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
(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
- gravestone
- headstone
- stone
- tombstone
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
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 He is being held without bond on three charges of removing or disfiguring a tomb or monument, violation of probation for battery and indecent exposure, and violation of a risk protection order. 
Lisa J. Huriash, Sun Sentinel, 2 Sep. 2022 Confederate names are memorialized through a barracks, housing area, road, gate, portrait, plaza and monument, among other areas at West Point, the report found. Christine Fernando, USA TODAY, 1 Sep. 2022 Daniel Athens, now 31, was charged with criminal mischief of a public monument or place of human burial and later sentenced to 18 months in a state prison. Taylor Pettaway, San Antonio Express-News, 26 Apr. 2022 In Oklahoma, cranes took apart a fountain and monument from a public square. New York Times, 28 Feb. 2022 Inspired by true events, the romantic epic opens in 1880s Paris, when our titular hero has no interest in creating the latter structure, then intended simply as a monument for the Exposition Universelle of 1889. Radhika Seth, Vogue, 1 Aug. 2022 Saint Sophia Cathedral stands as a monument to the East Slavic cultural heritage that Russians and Ukrainians share. J. Eugene Clay, The Conversation, 28 July 2022 The city Cultural Heritage Commission bestowed cultural monument status on his tower. Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2022 First envisioned by Christo and Jeanne-Claude in the early 1960s, the project of wrapping the Parisian monument in silvery blue fabric was completed by their estate in 2021, a year after Christo’s death; Jeanne-Claude died in 2009. Alexandra Wolfe, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2022 See More
Lisa J. Huriash, Sun Sentinel, 2 Sep. 2022 Confederate names are memorialized through a barracks, housing area, road, gate, portrait, plaza and monument, among other areas at West Point, the report found. Christine Fernando, USA TODAY, 1 Sep. 2022 Daniel Athens, now 31, was charged with criminal mischief of a public monument or place of human burial and later sentenced to 18 months in a state prison. Taylor Pettaway, San Antonio Express-News, 26 Apr. 2022 In Oklahoma, cranes took apart a fountain and monument from a public square. New York Times, 28 Feb. 2022 Inspired by true events, the romantic epic opens in 1880s Paris, when our titular hero has no interest in creating the latter structure, then intended simply as a monument for the Exposition Universelle of 1889. Radhika Seth, Vogue, 1 Aug. 2022 Saint Sophia Cathedral stands as a monument to the East Slavic cultural heritage that Russians and Ukrainians share. J. Eugene Clay, The Conversation, 28 July 2022 The city Cultural Heritage Commission bestowed cultural monument status on his tower. Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2022 First envisioned by Christo and Jeanne-Claude in the early 1960s, the project of wrapping the Parisian monument in silvery blue fabric was completed by their estate in 2021, a year after Christo’s death; Jeanne-Claude died in 2009. Alexandra Wolfe, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2022 See More 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
Kids Definition
monument
noun
mon·u·ment ˈmän-yə-mənt
1
: a structure (as a building, stone, or statue) made to keep alive the memory of a person or event
2
: something that serves as a good reminder or example
"That is a monument to the foolishness of love." Kate DiCamillo, The Tale of Despereaux
Kate DiCamillo, The Tale of Despereauxmonuments
noun
1
as in tombstones
a shaped stone laid over or erected near a grave and usually bearing an inscription to identify and preserve the memory of the deceased the Quakers disapproved of monuments, regarding them as idolatrous, so thousands of Nantucketers spend their eternal rest in complete anonymity Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- tombstones
- stones
- plaques
- gravestones
- headstones
- markers
- tombs
- obelisks
- memorials
- crosses
- shrines
- monoliths
- pillars
- tablets
- sepulchres
- tables
- burials
- sepulchers
- sepultures
2
as in memorials
something that serves to keep alive the memory of a person or event a moving monument to the great war and a tribute to the untold millions who died in it Synonyms & Similar Words
- memorials
- reminders
- relics
- souvenirs
- commemoratives
- mementoes
- mementos
- tributes
- tokens
- keepsakes
- landmarks
- remembrances
- cairns
- vestiges
- markers
- cenotaphs
- memorabilias
- testimonials