museum
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
- intermuseum adjective
Etymology
Origin of museum
1605–15; < Latin mūsēum place sacred to the Muses, building devoted to learning or the arts (referring especially to the scholarly institute founded in Alexandria about 280 b.c.) < Greek Mouseîon, equivalent to Moûs ( a ) Muse + -eion suffix of place
Explanation
A museum is a place where interesting objects are displayed — like paintings, historical documents, and dinosaur skeletons. There are all kinds of museums. Art museums are some of the most well-known, such as the Louvre in Paris. The Natural History Museum, with its dinosaur skeletons and stuffed bears and lions, is one of New York's most famous. In Washington, DC, the Smithsonian is a group of impressive museums. Around the country, there are museums dedicated to sports, African-American culture, spies, and just about everything else. At any museum, you'll find a lot of tourists.
Vocabulary lists containing museum
"A Suitcase of Seaweed" and "Immigrants Today"
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Unit 5
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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.
And another thing was the museum had to be open to its surroundings.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026
Can you go back to the beginning and talk about the core concept for the museum?
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026
"Tellus is currently the only museum to have a cast of Deinosuchus schwimmeri, so this is an experience our visitors can't get anywhere else," added Rebecca Melsheimer, the museum's curatorial coordinator.
From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2026
For Robinson, the story being told at the museum is a powerful one.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
There aren’t a lot of people at the civil rights museum.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
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.
