Definition of "diorama" []

• A three-dimensional miniature or life-size scene in which figures, stuffed wildlife, or other objects are arranged in a naturalistic setting against a painted background. (noun)
• A scene reproduced on cloth transparencies with various lights shining through the cloths to produce changes in effect, intended for viewing at a distance through an aperture. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The sheet explains the basic facts of what the diorama is about."
• "In 1822, Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, who had worked in theater design and panorama painting and would later invent the daguerreotype photograph, unveiled a dazzling new spectacle he dubbed the diorama."
• "The biggest point of a shoebox diorama is to show a natural habitat of something."