museum piece

noun

1
: something preserved in or suitable for a museum
2
: one that is out-of-date : a thing of the past

Examples of museum piece in a Sentence

That old computer will soon be a museum piece. that old wooden ironing board she uses is a museum piece
Recent Examples on the Web Masterpieces weren’t meant to be resurrected as museum pieces but boldly reexamined and understood afresh. Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2023 The relationship between the viewer and the museum piece gets all scrambled when the viewer has stood still, so to speak. Vulture, 26 Sep. 2023 Many of his country’s war planes are museum pieces — old Soviet models provided by Moscow during the 1950-53 Korean War. Paul Sonne, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2023 The idea is to wear and use — and therefore love — your things, rather than treating them like museum pieces. Rachel Tashjian, Washington Post, 24 Aug. 2023 To that end, the F.B.I. has come calling, since one person’s museum piece might be another person’s evidence. Bruce Handy, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023 Sometimes the homages can feel forced, honoring a vehicle or event that has faded from memory or creating a limited edition as a cash grab for customers who just want an exclusive museum piece. Caleb Miller, Car and Driver, 25 Jan. 2023 Analysts noted there was seemingly only one heavy tank in the entire parade this year -- a World War II-era T-34 museum piece that led the procession. Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 9 May 2023 Another one-off museum piece is the Egger-Lohner C.2 Phaeton [top right] engineered by 23-year-old Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, whose son would found today’s Porsche company after World War II. Kevin A. Wilson, Car and Driver, 31 Mar. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'museum piece.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1898, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of museum piece was in 1898

Dictionary Entries Near museum piece

Cite this Entry

“Museum piece.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/museum%20piece. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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