noun · verb · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
US:/ˈɑbəlɪsk/without the cot–caught merger
US:/ˈɔbəlɪsk/without the cot–caught merger
US, cot-caught-merger:/ˈɑbəlɪsk/
1
noun
Meaning 1
A tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point, frequently used as a monument.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: architecture
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Synonym of obelus.
A symbol resembling a horizontal line (–), sometimes together with one or two dots (for example, ⨪ or ÷), which was used in ancient manuscripts and texts to mark a word or passage as doubtful or spurious, or redundant.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical
Topics: media, publishing, typography
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Synonym of obelus.
A dagger symbol (†), which is used in printed matter as a reference mark to refer the reader to a footnote, marginal note, etc.; beside a person's name to indicate that the person is deceased; or beside a date to indicate that it is a person's death date.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: media, publishing, typography
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
An RNA structure similar to a viroid, with a rod-like secondary structure, which comprises its own phylogenetic group.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
verb
Meaning 5
To adopt the obelisk posture; to point the tip of the abdomen towards the sun.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: biology, entomology, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
a stone pillar having a rectangular cross section tapering towards a pyramidal top
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: column, pillar
Narrower terms: Washington Monument
7
noun
Meaning 7
a character used in printing to indicate a cross reference or footnote
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: dagger
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: character, grapheme, graphic symbol
History
Etymology
From Middle French obelisque, from Latin obeliscus (“obelisk”), from Ancient Greek ὀβελίσκος (obelískos), diminutive of ὀβελός (obelós, “needle”). Compare obelus.
Across languages
Translations
62 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
obelisk
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Arabic:
مِسَلَّة
(misalla)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Armenian:
կոթող
(kotʻoġ)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Azerbaijani:
obelisk
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Belarusian:
абелі́ск
(abjelísk)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Bulgarian:
обели́ск
(obelísk)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Burmese:
ကျောက်စာတိုင်
(kyaukcatuing)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Catalan:
obelisc
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Chinese Mandarin:
方尖碑
(fāngjiānbēi)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Czech:
obelisk
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Danish:
obelisk
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Dutch:
obelisk
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Egyptian:
t*x:n-O25
(tḫn)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Esperanto:
obelisko
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Estonian:
obelisk
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Finnish:
obeliski
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
French:
obélisque
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Galician:
obelisco
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Georgian:
ობელისკი
(obelisḳi)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
German:
Obelisk
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Greek:
οβελίσκος
(ovelískos)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Hebrew:
אוֹבֶּלִיסְק
(obelísk)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Hindi:
शिलास्तंभ
(śilāstambh)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Hungarian:
obeliszk
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Irish:
oibilisc
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Italian:
obelisco
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Japanese:
オベリスク
(oberisuku)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Japanese:
方尖柱
(hōsenchū)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Kazakh:
обелиск
(obelisk)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Korean:
오벨리스크
(obelliseukeu)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Korean:
방첨탑
(bangcheomtap)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Kyrgyz:
обелиск
(obelisk)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Latin:
obeliscus
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Latvian:
obelisks
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Lithuanian:
obeliskas
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Macedonian:
обелиск
(obelisk)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Norwegian Bokmål:
obelisk
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Persian:
ابلیسک
(obelisk)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Polish:
obelisk
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Portuguese:
obelisco
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Romanian:
obelisc
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Russian:
обели́ск
(obelísk)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Serbo-Croatian:
обѐлиск
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Serbo-Croatian:
obèlisk
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Slovak:
obelisk
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Slovene:
obelísk
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Spanish:
obelisco
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Swedish:
obelisk
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Tagalog:
obelisko
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Tajik:
обелиск
(obelisk)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Turkish:
obelisk
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Turkish:
dikili taş
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Turkish:
dikilitaş
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Ukrainian:
обелі́ск
(obelísk)
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Uzbek:
obelisk
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
Vietnamese:
tượng đài
— tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
French:
obèle
— dagger symbol — see also dagger
German:
Kreuz
— dagger symbol — see also dagger
Greek:
οβελίσκος
(ovelískos)
— dagger symbol — see also dagger
Irish:
miodóg
— dagger symbol — see also dagger
Latin:
obeliscus
— dagger symbol — see also dagger
