# museum

/ˈmjuziəm/ (US) · /mjuːzˈiəm/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/museum
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. a building for exhibits

noun · CEFR A1

a place where interesting and valuable objects are kept for people to see.

For teachers: a building or institution that houses and displays objects of cultural, historical, or scientific importance.

- We spent the afternoon at the science museum looking at old planes.
- The national museum recently acquired a rare collection of medieval manuscripts that will be displayed in the new wing next spring.

### 2. to visit museums

verb · CEFR C1 · Informal

to spend time visiting different museums as a hobby or tourist activity.

For teachers: to engage in the activity of visiting museums, typically for leisure or education.

- We spent our entire weekend in London museuming until our feet hurt.
- After a morning of museuming through the city's historic district, the tourists were eager to find a quiet café for lunch.

### 3. to place in a museum

verb · CEFR C2 · Technical · Formal

to put an object into a museum collection to keep it safe.

For teachers: to archive or store an object within a museum setting for preservation.

- The rare coins were museumed to ensure they would not be damaged by light.
- The decision to museum the artifacts was met with some local resistance from those who wished to keep the items in their original chapel.

## Examples

- We are visiting the art museum this afternoon.
- The local history museum features a large collection of tools and clothing used by early settlers in the region.
- Curators at the national museum are currently digitizing their entire archive to make rare historical manuscripts accessible to researchers worldwide through an online portal.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.