mausoleum

[ maw-suh-lee-uhm, -zuh- ]
See synonyms for mausoleum on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural mau·so·le·ums, mau·so·le·a [maw-suh-lee-uh, -zuh-]. /ˌmɔ səˈli ə, -zə-/.
  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.

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

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

Origin of mausoleum

1
1375–1425; late Middle English <Latin <Greek Mausoleîon the tomb of Mausolus, king of Caria

Other words from mausoleum

  • mau·so·le·an, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mausoleum in a sentence

  • The women, bathed in tears, come to throw themselves around these mausoleums.

    Perils and Captivity | Charlotte-Adlade [ne Picard] Dard

British Dictionary definitions for mausoleum

mausoleum

/ (ˌmɔːsəˈlɪəm) /


nounplural -leums or -lea (-ˈlɪə)
  1. a large stately tomb

Origin of mausoleum

1
C16: via Latin from Greek mausōleion, the tomb of Mausolus, king of Caria; built at Halicarnassus in the 4th century bc

Derived forms of mausoleum

  • mausolean, adjective

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

Cultural definitions for mausoleum

mausoleum

[ (maw-suh-lee-uhm, maw-zuh-lee-uhm) ]


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

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.