epitaph
Americannoun
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epitaphs
plural
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a commemorative inscription on a tomb or mortuary monument about the person buried at that site.
-
a brief poem or other writing in praise of a deceased person.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a commemorative inscription on a tombstone or monument
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a speech or written passage composed in commemoration of a dead person
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a final judgment on a person or thing
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of epitaph
1350–1400; Middle English epitaphe < Latin epitaphium < Greek epitáphion over or at a tomb, equivalent to epi- epi- + táph ( os ) tomb + -ion noun, adj. suffix
Explanation
An epitaph is an inscription on a gravestone. Famous for his comedic jabs at the City of Brotherly Love, writer W.C. Fields once said he wanted "I'd rather be living in Philadelphia" as the epitaph on his tombstone. Once you trace this word back to its origins, you'll never forget its meaning. Forms of it show up in Middle English, Old French, Latin, and, before that, Greek: epi- "upon" and taphos "tomb." This gives us a mini history lesson on burial traditions. For thousands of years various societies have carved poetic, weepy, and witty words onto the monuments marking the final resting places of famous and infamous citizens.
Vocabulary lists containing epitaph
A Raisin in the Sun
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Bob Dylan Wins Nobel Prize in Literature
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Much Ado About Nothing
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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.
See Examples For:
When Dombrowski signed shortstop Trea Turner to a $300 million contract in 2022, he explained his decision by delivering the quote that could double as his epitaph.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2025
If we were to assign his TV father an epitaph, he could do a lot worse than the unvarnished speech that closes the first season.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2025
If this ends up being Cronenberg’s last, he’ll have gone out with a worldly, weighty epitaph.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2025
On the headstone marking his grave, the epitaph simply read “The Butler.”
From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2024
It was an epitaph that could have been written for Finch, except that I’ve written one for him myself: Theodore Finch—I was alive.
From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven
There’s an abundance of small slabs, simple epitaphs like Our Baby.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025
Both inside the Cathedral and out, there were so many heartfelt epitaphs paid to Charlton's life, but it was possibly Reverend Grace Thomas who best summed up his legacy.
From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2023
And so, every New Year's Day the words of Amundsen and Scott, inscribed as epitaphs at the geographic South Pole, are ceremonially moved to the newly measured, precise bottom of the earth.
From Salon ● May 29, 2023
There will be speakers, including Rosie Grant, who went viral for making recipes she finds on gravestone epitaphs, and plenty of cake for participants to eat.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 9, 2023
It was impossible, of course, to ignore the crosses, and each morning Jerry G. and Horsethief Shorty, occasionally aided by Bernabe Montoya and the state cops, had to uproot a dozen epitaphs.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
