根據國際博物館協會嘅定義，博物館係「一間永久性同開放畀公眾嘅非牟利機構，目的係服務社會同促進社會發展，負責蒐集、保存、研究、傳播同展示人類同佢嘅環境有關嘅實証，用嚟研究、教育同觀賞」，呢度列出嘅澳門地方全部都符合呢個定義。
According to the International Council of Museums (ICOM), a museum is "a permanent and public-open, non-profit institution whose purpose is to serve and promote the development of society, and is responsible for collecting, preserving, researching, disseminating and presenting empirical evidence relating to human beings and their environment for research, education and appreciation".