burial

American  

[ber-ee-uhl] / ˈbɛr i əl /

noun

• burials
  plural

1. the act or ceremony of burying.

2. the place of burying; grave.

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burial British  

/ ˈbɛrɪəl /

noun

1. the act of burying, esp the interment of a dead body

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• reburial
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• burials
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of burial

First recorded in 1200–50; bury + -al ²; replacing Middle English buriel, back formation from Old English byrgels “burial place,” from byrg(an) “to bury” + -els(e), noun suffix ( cf. riddle ¹)

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Explanation

A burial is the act of placing a dead person in a grave. It's a ritual of respect and closure. If your pet lizard dies, give him a proper burial by digging a little grave in your backyard. If you've ever been to a funeral, you've probably witnessed a burial — lowering a corpse into the ground. Though burying a body is physically like burying anything, a burial involves solemn rituals and deep respect. Often, religious services are given as the body goes under, and the family and friends gather at the burial to mourn the dead. A tombstone or other marker is erected after the burial.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

burial burials

Medina, the burial place of the Prophet Mohammed and home to the Prophet's Mosque, is one of Islam's holiest cities alongside Mecca.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

Ross Kemp was pre-selected by the traitors to be protected from burial along with his grave partner Romesh Ranganathan, who did a delightful dance when he found out he wouldn't be going underground.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

The discovery of burial sites like the one here has long eaten away at relations between the neighbors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

That means nearly 40 percent of the individuals carried evidence of plague, a detection rate even higher than that reported at some medieval plague burial sites.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026

As the mourners turned their backs to the coffin to await its burial, Pinmei could not help stealing a look.

From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin

"A month and a half later, four people were able to be identified and there were four burials," he said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

Archaeologists work with excavated burials; “The Road to Hel” leads to the meanings behind the objects.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

Meanwhile, in Chitwan, a district far downstream from where the floods first hit, makeshift burials were taking place after the Himalayan nation's river systems brought nearly 300 dead bodies to its banks.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

In earlier burials, the arms were usually extended, while some later individuals had an arm folded inward.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026

It is a testament to our confraternity, however, that a curious ground of agreement was eventually reached: the necessity of concealing all mourning at the smallpox burials, and displaying only dancing and festival triumph.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

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Related Words

• funeral
• interment

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