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national monument

national monument

6 3.3
A place or building that a national government protects because it is important in history and people can visit
  • noun
  • /ˈnæʃənl ˈmɒnəmənt/
translation icon : monumento nacional
  • Devils Tower, Wyoming was the first national monument erected in this country by Theodore Roosevelt in 1915.
  • designated a national monument

No, that's, that's no like a popular place that people go to like a, you know, a National Monument or something.

Examples

  • As the new Federal Minister for National Monuments, I would just like to say that places like the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, in fact, all our national monuments, will be protected vigorously by my ministry.

  • On this date in 1908, the Grand Canyon was dedicated as a national monument.

  • Get the government to make the property a national monument at the taxpayers' expense.

    Blog text (13)
  • Two years later, the trustees, threatened by property taxes, gave the land to the federal government as a national monument.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Congress passed amendments preventing an expansion of oil and gas drilling in national monument areas off the Florida Gulf Coast and in the Great Lakes.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Devils Tower, Wyoming was the first national monument erected in this country by Theodore Roosevelt in 1915.

  • Discusses a nearly 30-square-mile region of sand dunes in south-central Colorado that was designated a national monument in 1932 and a park in 2004.

    Academic text (2016)
  • Subsequent jockeying among private landowners, local businesses, timber interests, government, environmentalists, and scientists created the 43,300-hectare MSH national monument, administered by the US Forest Service and preserved for research and low-impact recreation.

    Academic text (2010)
  • The area known as Bears Ears, near Blanding, Utah, was designated a national monument by President Barack Obama.

Synonyms

memorial
vsnational monument
197 3.7

A structure like a statue that reminds people of an important person or event

is officially set aside by the central government for preservation and public enjoyment
monument
vsnational monument
160 3.4

A large structure that honours a famous person or important event

is officially set aside by the central government for preservation and public enjoyment

How Important

national monument
6 3.3
monument
160 3.4
memorial
197 3.7
statue
381 1.0
plaque
64 5.1
marker
71 2.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

national + monument

The meaning is directly compositional: 'national' (relating to the nation or national government) modifies 'monument' (a commemorative structure), so a B1 learner who knows both words will infer a monument associated with the nation or designated/managed at the national level. This adjective+noun pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows standard English composition, making the phrase immediately understandable from its parts.

Etymology

National monument comes from two simple ideas: monument is a building, statue, or special place made to remember an important person or event, and national means the whole country chooses it. So a national monument is a place the government keeps safe and open for everyone to visit and to 'remember' history.