memento

M3E1M3E1N1T1O1
/məˈmɛntoʊ/

noun

A keepsake; an object kept as a reminder of a place or event.

“I kept the shell as a memento of my visit to the seashore.”

Less commonScrabble 11

Meanings

nounmemento (plural mementos or mementoes)

plural mementos · plural mementoes

  1. A keepsake; an object kept as a reminder of a place or event.

    I kept the shell as a memento of my visit to the seashore.

    2 more examples

    In conclusion, I would remark that the great railway stations of London deserve to be visited every whit as much as St. Paul's Cathedral, the Abbey, or the Tower, and they are as worthy a memento of this century as those buildings are of the days that are gone.

    1944 July and August, “London Railway Stations in 1893”, in Railway Magazine, page 201, taken from The English Illustrated Magazine of June 1893

    Many hospitals have not taken simple steps to lessen the distress and confusion which dementia sufferers' often feel on being somewhere so unfamiliar – such as making signs large and easy to read, using colour schemes to help patients find their way around unfamiliar wards and not putting family mementoes such as photographs nearby.

    2011 December 16, Denis Campbell, “Hospital staff 'lack skills to cope with dementia patients'”, in Guardian

    Synonyms: keepsake, souvenir, memorabilia

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA keepsake; an object kept as a reminder of a place or event.

More synonyms by meaning

nouna reminder of past events

Similar
Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinmementō“remember”
  2. Englishmemento

Borrowed from Latin mementō (“remember”), imperative form of meminī (“to remember”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian спо́мен, сувени́р
  • спо́мен (spómen)a keepsake
  • сувени́р (suvenír)a keepsake
Chinese Mandarin 紀念品 /纪念品
  • 紀念品 /纪念品 (jìniànpǐn)a keepsake
Esperanto memoraĵo
  • memoraĵoa keepsake
Finnish muisto, muistoesine
  • muistoa keepsake
  • muistoesinea keepsake
French souvenir
  • souvenira keepsake
German Andenken, Erinnerung
  • Andenkena keepsake
  • Erinnerunga keepsake
  • Mahnzeichena keepsake
Greek ενθύμιο
  • ενθύμιο (enthýmio)a keepsake
Hungarian mementó, emlékeztető
  • mementóa keepsake
  • emlékeztetőa keepsake
Icelandic minjagripur, minningargripur
  • minjagripura keepsake
  • minningargripura keepsake
Indonesian kenang-kenangan
  • kenang-kenangana keepsake
Irish cuimhneachán
  • cuimhneachána keepsake
Italian memento, ricordo
  • mementoa keepsake
  • ricordoa keepsake
Japanese 記念品, メメント
  • 記念品 (kinenhin)a keepsake
  • メメント (memento)a keepsake
  • 記念物 (kinenbutsu)a keepsake
Korean 기념품, 기념물
  • 기념품 (ginyeompum)a keepsake
  • 기념물 (ginyeommul)a keepsake
Māori manatunga
  • manatungaa keepsake
Norwegian minne
  • minnea keepsake
Persian یادگاری, یادبود
  • یادگاری (yâdegâri)a keepsake
  • یادبود (yâdbud)a keepsake
Portuguese lembrancinha, recordação
  • lembrancinhaa keepsake
  • recordaçãoa keepsake
  • lembrançaa keepsake
Russian сувени́р
  • сувени́р (suvenír)a keepsake
Scottish Gaelic cuimhneachan
  • cuimhneachana keepsake
Spanish recuerdo
  • recuerdoa keepsake
Swedish minnessak, souvenir
  • minnessaka keepsake
  • souvenira keepsake
Turkish andaç, anı
  • andaça keepsake
  • anıa keepsake
  • hatıraa keepsake
  • yadigâra keepsake
Ukrainian сувені́р, па́м'ятка
  • сувені́р (suvenír)a keepsake
  • па́м'ятка (pámʺjatka)a keepsake

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with memento

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

memento. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/memento

MLA

“memento.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/memento. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “memento,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/memento.

Source: memento on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.