What Does Monument Mean?

The word 'monument' is used as a noun and it describes a building or a statue that is built to make people remind of some past events or the people who have done something extra-ordinary in the past. You can also use the word for a building that has some historical importance.
      
Sometimes the word is also being used in a figurative sense and when you are using it is this sense, it is usually used in association with 'to something' and the term conveys the idea of something that is considered as a good example of the qualities of somebody that he did in the past. Following example can make you understand the word well: His recordings are the monument to his virtuosity as a musician.

STRUCTURE ERECTED IN REMEMBRANCE LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE: THE FEDERAL BUILDING IN OKC,OK.IT IS NO LONGER THERE DUE TO THE BOMBING, BUT IN ITS PLACE THERE IS A MONUMENT TO REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED AND THE LIVES LOST DUE TO THAT SAD DAY.