Smithsonian Institution

[ smith-soh-nee-uh n ]
/ smɪθˈsoʊ ni ən /

noun

an institution in Washington, D.C., founded 1846 with a grant left by James Smithson, for the increase and diffusion of knowledge: U.S. national museum and repository.

British Dictionary definitions for smithsonian institution

Smithsonian Institution
/ (smɪθˈsəʊnɪən) /

noun

a national museum and institution in Washington, D.C., founded in 1846 from a bequest by James Smithson, primarily concerned with ethnology, zoology, and astrophysics

Cultural definitions for smithsonian institution

Smithsonian Institution
[ (smith-soh-nee-uhn) ]

A group of over a dozen museums and research and publication facilities, such as the National Air and Space Museum, the Museum of Natural History, the Museum of History and Technology, the National Zoo, and the National Gallery of Art. Many of the Smithsonian's buildings are on the Washington Mall. The institution is named after James Smithson, an Englishman whose bequest enabled its founding in the nineteenth century.