souvenir

noun

sou·​ve·​nir ˈsü-və-ˌnir How to pronounce souvenir (audio)
ˌsü-və-ˈnir
Synonyms of souvenirnext
: something kept as a reminder (as of a place one has visited)
a souvenir of her travels
a souvenir shop

Synonyms

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of souvenir in a Sentence

When I went to the Super Bowl, I kept my ticket stub as a souvenir. kept their love letters as souvenirs of their courtship
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.
The items stolen included jewelry, firearms and some of ex-Zimbabwe Olympic swimmer Coventry's souvenirs from her career, as well as $15,000 in cash. — arkansasonline.com, 22 Mar. 2025 The boy, who prosecutors said was dead for several hours before his mom called 911, was found in a hotel room bed, among Disneyland souvenirs and a kitchen knife purchased the day before it was found in the room, officials said. — Paloma Chavez, Sacramento Bee, 21 Mar. 2025 The Azalea Cocktail Kit includes: 25.4 fluid ounces of non-alcoholic Azalea cocktail mix Masters souvenir cups Masters coasters Masters custom stirrers Masters cocktail jigger Recipe card Note: Alcohol is NOT included. — Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 18 Mar. 2025 His historic Park Slope, Brooklyn, rental was already filled with souvenirs from his international work trips, like tribal masks and handmade rugs, which weren’t an obvious pairing for Belanger’s pastel sculptures of cake slices and ice cream cones. — Morgan Goldberg, Architectural Digest, 13 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for souvenir

Word History

Etymology

French, literally, act of remembering, from Middle French, from (se) souvenir to remember, from Latin subvenire to come up, come to mind — more at subvention

First Known Use

1782, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of souvenir was in 1782

Phrases Containing souvenir

Rhymes for souvenir

See All Rhymes for souvenir

Browse Nearby Words

Soutine
souvenir
souvenir sheet
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Souvenir.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/souvenir. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

souvenir

noun
sou·​ve·​nir ˈsü-və-ˌni(ə)r How to pronounce souvenir (audio)
ˌsü-və-ˈni(ə)r
: something that serves as a reminder : memento

More from Merriam-Webster on souvenir

Nglish: Translation of souvenir for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
dog-in-disguise
Rhyme Disguise Quiz Pair up words that look different but sound alike.
See All