-ment

American

a suffix of nouns, often concrete, denoting an action or resulting state (abridgment; refreshment ), a product (fragment ), or means (ornament ).

-ment British

suffix

indicating state, condition, or quality

enjoyment
indicating the result or product of an action

embankment
indicating process or action

management

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of -ment

< French < Latin -mentum, suffix forming nouns, usually from verbs

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Hello, my name is . . . Duane. I was won— . . . dering if you . . . might stop hop— . . . ping for a mo— . . . ment, please?”

From Literature

“Mikael never forgot a face,” said Sabrina Ment, an executive at Disney and a longtime friend.

From Los Angeles Times

“It’s not just a restaurant, it’s not just a bar,” said Ment, who attended the emotional gathering of friends and restaurant workers.

From Los Angeles Times

Combine and define confine + ment.—What other part of speech than a verb is "confine"? Ans.

From Literature

Exception 2.—A few words ending in e drop the e before a suffix beginning with a consonant: as, judge + ment = judgment; lodge + ment = lodgment; abridge + ment = abridgment.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023