memento

noun

me·men·to mə-ˈmen-(ˌ)tō

nonstandard

mō-

plural mementos or mementoes

Synonyms of memento next

: something that serves to warn or remind

a museum filled with war mementos—

Libby Lubin

also : souvenir

mementos of their travels

Did you know?

In Latin, memento is the imperative form (meaning it is used as a command) of meminisse, a verb that means “to remember.” (The term memento mori, which refers to a reminder of mortality, translates literally as “remember that you must die,” for example). The history of memento makes it clear where its spelling came from, but because a memento often helps one remember a particular moment, people occasionally spell the term momento. This is typically considered a misspelling, but it appears often enough in edited prose (including the work of such esteemed authors as George Eliot and Dylan Thomas) to have been entered in most dictionaries as an acceptable variant spelling.

Examples of memento in a Sentence

a collection of photographs and mementos It was a memento of our trip.

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.

Shop The Day Away From consignment stores to boutiques, surf shops to galleries, Jupiter has something for everyone looking for a memento of their trip. —

Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 3 Jan. 2025 Following her death, the actor has continued to pay tribute to her memory, even sharing a look at her mementos, including her ceramics collection, that he's kept over the years. —

Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 18 Dec. 2024 Carter, a Georgia native, launched his gubernatorial campaign there in 1970, and a collage of photos, paintings, and mementos honoring him can still be found on the walls. —

Amanda Castro, Newsweek, 30 Dec. 2024 People told us about local governments taking everything from tents and sleeping bags to journals, pictures and mementos. —

Nicole Santa Cruz, ProPublica, 27 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for memento