monument

noun

mon·​u·​ment ˈmän-yə-mənt 

1

obsolete : a burial vault : sepulchre

2

: a written legal document or record : treatise

3

a(1)

: a lasting evidence, reminder, or example of someone or something notable or great

The project sits unfinished as a monument to folly.

… Stonehenge yet stands: a monument of the earlier time when the Roman name was unknown in Britain …

—Charles Dickens

(2)

: a distinguished person

b

: a memorial stone or a building erected in remembrance of a person or event

4

archaic : an identifying mark : evidence

also : portent, sign

5

obsolete : a carved statue : effigy

6

: a boundary or position marker (such as a stone)

7

: national monument

8

: a written tribute

Synonyms of monument

• tombstone
• stone
• plaque

Examples of monument in a Sentence

They have erected a monument in his honor.

the Quakers disapproved of monuments, regarding them as idolatrous, so thousands of Nantucketers spend their eternal rest in complete anonymity

Recent Examples on the Web

On the living-room bookshelves, there is a model of Corbusier’s Open Hand monument in Chandigarh — a gift from the man himself. —Anthony Paletta, Curbed, 13 Jan. 2026

These bad bills —- and a handful of others — represent the worst kind of nostalgia, a push to return to a time when developers could bulldoze trees and fill in wetlands to build their monuments to greed. —Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2026

On the moors, cliffs, and hills there are wind farms; oil terminals; small farms, some of which have been there for many centuries; ruined medieval churches and hermitages; and prehistoric settlements, tombs, and monuments. —Sarah Moss, Travel + Leisure, 11 Jan. 2026

The trek is also a separate endeavor from a $200 million campaign to build towering monuments on the temple’s 14-acre property to house the Buddha’s teachings engraved in stone, according to Dong. —Deepa Bharath, Fortune, 11 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin monumentum, literally, memorial, from monēre to remind — more at mind

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing monument

• national monument

Kids Definition

monument

noun

mon·​u·​ment ˈmän-yə-mənt 

1

: something that serves as a memorial

especially : a building, pillar, stone, or statue honoring a person or event

2

: a work, saying, or deed that lasts or that is worth preserving

the book is a monument of scholarship

3

: a boundary marker (as a stone)

4

: a place of historic interest or natural beauty set aside and maintained by the government as public property