ziggurat
noun
zig·gu·rat
| \ ˈzi-gə-ˌrat
\
\
Definition of ziggurat
: an ancient Mesopotamian temple tower consisting of a lofty pyramidal structure built in successive stages with outside staircases and a shrine at the top
also
: a structure or object of similar form
Illustration of ziggurat
Keep scrolling for more
Examples of ziggurat in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Crile, a 14-story building shaped like a ziggurat – a stepped pyramid – set the pattern. — Steven Litt, cleveland.com, "Remembering architect Cesar Pelli’s big contributions to Cleveland: An appreciation - Steven Litt," 28 July 2019 The Chand Baori in Abhaneri, east of Jaipur (the capital of Rajasthan), resembles an inverted ziggurat. — The Economist, "India’s magnificent stepwells are relics of a nuanced history," 13 July 2019 Love among the ziggurats On this second visit to the ancient Sumerian site, Agatha Christie first met Max Mallowan, Leonard Woolley’s assistant. — National Geographic, "Agatha Christie's adventurous 'second act' plays out in Mesopotamia," 21 Mar. 2019 Over mountains and swamps, through castles and ziggurats, anywhere the World of Warcraft might lead. — Alex Prewitt, SI.com, "One Big Dream: Yao Ming Wants to Make Chinese Basketball Global," 27 June 2019 Clues and mysteries For the first four seasons at Ur, Woolley concentrated on the area around the ziggurat, or temple tower. — National Geographic, "The royal tombs of Ur revealed Mesopotamia's golden splendor," 22 May 2019 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York, kicked things off by acquiring the old Whitney Museum building, an imposing granite inverted ziggurat on Madison Avenue, and changing the name to the Met Breuer, a nod to its architect, Marcel Breuer. — Lauren Ho, Condé Nast Traveler, "Architectural Reboot: The Return of Brutalism," 20 Dec. 2018 That’s right—there was a time in the not-too-distant past when parents let their scamper over concrete ziggurats and build their own play structures with hammers and nails. — Alexandra Lange, Curbed, "How not to cheat children: Let them build their own playgrounds," 18 July 2018 Attendees played the game on Xbox One developer kits and HDR TVs in a back room that had a giant ziggurat on the wall. — Samuel Axon, Ars Technica, "Shadow of the Tomb Raider hands-on: It’s the end of the world and Lara does not feel fine," 27 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ziggurat.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more