museum

noun

mu·​se·​um myu̇-ˈzē-əm How to pronounce museum (audio)
Synonyms of museumnext
: an institution devoted to the procurement, care, study, and display of objects of lasting interest or value
American Museum of Natural History
also : a place where objects are exhibited
an art museum

Synonyms

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of museum in a Sentence

a museum of natural history a trip to the Museum of Natural History
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Museum Expansion: The Frick Collection Arguably even more so than its uptown neighbor the Met, the Frick has always been the quintessential New York City museum. — Julie Belcove, Robb Report, 10 June 2025 Five weeks after its 2011 launch, the museum achieved its target annual visitorship of 150,000; it was named Art Fund Museum of the Year in 2017. — News Desk, Artforum, 9 June 2025 In 2010, Carl represented himself, his brothers and his country at a ceremony in South Korea commemorating the 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, per the museum. — Stephanie Guerilus, People.com, 7 June 2025 More: Protestors rally to support the national African American museum and Black history Schnabel of The Lynx Books hopes the efforts have impact beyond a day. — Deborah Barfield Berry, USA Today, 7 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for museum

Word History

Etymology

Latin Museum place for learned occupation, from Greek Mouseion, from neuter of Mouseios of the Muses, from Mousa

First Known Use

circa 1660, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of museum was circa 1660

Phrases Containing museum

Rhymes for museum

See All Rhymes for museum

Browse Nearby Words

musette
museum
museum beetle
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Museum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/museum. Accessed 16 Jun. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

museum

noun
mu·​se·​um myu̇-ˈzē-əm How to pronounce museum (audio)
: a building in which interesting and valuable things (as works of art or historical or scientific objects) are collected and shown to the public
Etymology

from Latin Museum "a place devoted to the Muses, a place for the study of special arts and sciences," from Greek Mouseion (same meaning), from Mouseios "of the Muses," from Mousa "Muse, goddess of an art or science" — related to music

Word Origin
The ancient Greeks worshipped nine sister goddesses, each of whom was called a Mousa. In English we now refer to them as the Muses. The Greeks believed that each Muse was the goddess of a particular art or science. A place that was dedicated to these goddesses—and to the arts and sciences for which they stood—was called a Mouseion. The Greek Mouseion became Museum in Latin, from which it was borrowed into English about 300 years ago.

More from Merriam-Webster on museum

Nglish: Translation of museum for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about museum

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

8 Words for the Wordy and Talking Too Much

How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language

10 Hella Good U.S. Regionalisms

Rare and Amusing Insults, Volume 3

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

8 Words for the Wordy and Talking Too Much

How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All