ephemera
noun
ephem·era
| \ i-ˈfe-mər-ə
, -ˈfem-rə\
, -ˈfem-rə\
plural ephemera
also ephemerae\ i-ˈfe-mər-ē
, -ˈfem-rē \
or ephemeras
, -ˈfem-rē \
or ephemeras
Definition of ephemera
1
: something of no lasting significance
—usually used in plural
2
ephemera plural
: paper items (such as posters, broadsides, and tickets) that were originally meant to be discarded after use but have since become collectibles
Examples of ephemera in a Sentence
He has a large collection of old menus and other ephemera.
Recent Examples on the Web
Patrons entered the restaurant through a back alley doorway and could either sit at a communal table, surrounded by hip hop ephemera, or take food out. — Sameer Rao, baltimoresun.com, "Hampden-based Asian eatery TigerStyle closes after barely six months," 5 Aug. 2019 While its inaugural season featured celebs like T-Pain and Donny Osmond in costumes like the Monster and the Peacock, respectively, this season appears to be taking a cue from the current viral cultural ephemera that eggs are experiencing. — Cady Lang, Time, "The Masked Singer Introduces Very Mysterious Egg Mascot for Season 2," 8 Aug. 2019 But while Morrison shares space with the usual firehose of bad news, her passing offers at least one impulse to go deeper, to read more, dig in, think more critically and disconnect from the ephemera. — Philip Kennicott, chicagotribune.com, "Obituaries are the only redemptive news anymore," 8 Aug. 2019 But while Morrison shares space with the usual firehouse of bad news, her passing offers at least one impulse to go deeper, to read more, dig in, think more critically and disconnect from the ephemera. — Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, "Obituaries are the only redemptive news anymore," 7 Aug. 2019 Rob Hiaasen likely was tapping away at his own station, kept company by a toy soldier, a snow globe and other desktop ephemera. — Jean Marbella, baltimoresun.com, "A snow globe, a poem, a home: Capital Gazette victims revealed, recalled in the things they left behind," 23 June 2019 The store is full of oddities — giant signs from old L.A., novelty phones from the ’70s, mannequins and stacks of L.A. ephemera. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "L.A. is losing its weird edges to bland, boxy and Instagram-friendly," 20 June 2019 The rest of the time, Tejas Steakhouse has its menagerie of vintage rifles, trophy mounts and Western ephemera to build a cowboy aura. — Mike Sutter, ExpressNews.com, "Review: Rodeo spirit energizes Tejas Steakhouse in Bulverde," 11 July 2019 Her interests include artists’ books, ephemera, and other intersections of text and image. — The New York Review of Books, "Megan N. Liberty," 24 Nov. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ephemera.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for ephemera
ephemera
noun
English Language Learners Definition of ephemera
: things that are important or useful for only a short time : items that were not meant to have lasting value
See the full definition for ephemera in the English Language Learners Dictionary