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Synonyms

mausoleum

American  
[maw-suh-lee-uhm, -zuh-] / ˌmɔ səˈli əm, -zə- /

noun

plural

mausoleums, mausolea

  1. a stately and magnificent tomb.

  2. a burial place for the bodies or remains of many individuals, often of a single family, usually in the form of a small building.

  3. a large, gloomy, depressing building, room, or the like.

  4. (initial capital letter) the tomb erected at Halicarnassus in Asia Minor in 350? b.c.

mausoleum British  
/ ˌmɔːsəˈlɪəm /

noun

  1. a large stately tomb

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
mausoleum Cultural  

  1. A tomb, or a building containing tombs. Mausoleums are often richly decorated. The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum.

Other Word Forms

  • mausolean adjective

Etymology

Origin of mausoleum

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin < Greek Mausoleîon the tomb of Mausolus, king of Caria

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Tucked within the sprawling complex of Chota Imambara - a mausoleum and congregation hall - this kitchen in Lucknow is a reminder of a different kind of royal legacy.

From BBC

Knight also entered a mausoleum behind the altar and opened up a box containing ashes, Fraser said.

From BBC

The two men -- dubbed "eternal leaders" in state propaganda -- are housed in the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, a vast mausoleum in downtown Pyongyang.

From Barron's

A footballing mausoleum of memories and moments, both awe-inspiring and harrowing.

From BBC

Nikita Khrushchev and other top officials watched from atop the red granite mausoleum holding the bodies of the former Soviet leaders Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.