waxwork

noun wax·work \ ˈwaks-ˌwərk \

Updated on: 18 Mar 2018

Definition of waxwork

1 : an effigy in wax usually of a person

2 waxworks plural in form but singular or plural in construction : wax museum

Recent Examples of waxwork from the Web

Some of the most striking of Mr. Connors’s photographs are portraits of North Koreans: three schoolgirls as frozen as waxworks, one young man affectionately touching another at a public swimming pool.

— arthur lubow, New York Times, "What’s New in Photography? Humanism, MoMA Says," 9 Mar. 2018
Claire Treacy, a spokeswoman for Madame Tussauds in London, said the decision to move the life-size Trump waxwork was made spontaneously within minutes.

— jennifer hassan, Washington Post, "Trump canceled his trip to the U.S. Embassy in London, but his Madame Tussauds waxwork made it," 12 Jan. 2018
Most textbook translations of these Greek classics, the ones dreaded by high school students, read like a 19th-century catalog of waxworks.

— jeff macgregor, Smithsonian, "The Healing Power of Greek Tragedy," 26 Oct. 2017
And that's because this new look is a waxwork that actually... looks nothing like her at all?

— lyndsey matthews, Cosmopolitan, "This Bad Bad VERY BAD Lady Gaga Wax Figure Has People Outraged, Confused, and Low-Key Amused," 25 Oct. 2017
The real rulers are secreted in the second-class carriages but are obeyed because of the splendour of the waxwork rulers in the first-class carriages.

— The Economist, "BagehotWalter Bagehot would have loathed government by referendum," 21 Oct. 2017
For us, the Age of Discovery is long gone and, for the most part, so are old-fashioned historical epics, other than the occasional Chinese extravaganza or one of those international waxworks with clashing accents.

— manohla dargis, New York Times, "Review: Hearts of Darkness and Light in ‘The Lost City of Z’," 13 Apr. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'waxwork.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.