ziggurat

noun

zig·​gu·​rat ˈzi-gə-ˌrat 

: an ancient Mesopotamian temple tower consisting of a lofty pyramidal structure built in successive stages with outside staircases and a shrine at the top

also : a structure or object of similar form

Illustration of ziggurat

Did you know?

François Lenormant and Ziggurat

French professor of archaeology François Lenormant spent a great deal of time poring over ancient Assyrian texts. In those cuneiform inscriptions, he pieced together a long-forgotten language, now known as Akkadian, which proved valuable to our understanding of the ancient civilization. Through his studies, he became familiar with the Akkadian word for Mesopotamia’s towering, stepped temples: ziqqurratu, which stepped into English as ziggurat.

Examples of ziggurat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Hassell cited a 1982 concrete ziggurat near Orchard Boulevard by American architect John Portman, inventor of the atrium hotel. —Kevin West, Travel + Leisure, 16 July 2025

And one way to climb the social ziggurat is to undermine your peers: spread gossip, turn friends against rivals, and lower others’ value within the group. —Charlie Campbell, Time, 3 Apr. 2025

The shakey camera pans as if scaling a ziggurat from afar. —Matthew Carey, Deadline, 29 Mar. 2025

On top of the El Dorado’s twin towers, nearly 400 feet in the air, were two men balancing on the slender ziggurat peaks. —Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 21 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Akkadian ziqqurratu

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ziggurat

• acrobat
• autocrat
• automat
• bundesrat
• bureaucrat
• butterfat
• caveat
• chemostat
• copycat
• cryostat
• democrat
• diplomat

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