catacomb

American  

[kat-uh-kohm] / ˈkæt əˌkoʊm /

noun

1. Usually catacombs. an underground cemetery, especially one consisting of tunnels and rooms with recesses dug out for coffins and tombs.

2. the Catacombs, the subterranean burial chambers of the early Christians in and near Rome, Italy.

3. an underground passageway, especially one full of twists and turns.

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catacomb British  

/ -ˌkuːm, ˈkætəˌkəʊm /

noun

1. (usually plural) an underground burial place, esp the galleries at Rome, consisting of tunnels with vaults or niches leading off them for tombs

2. a series of interconnected underground tunnels or caves

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Other Word Forms

• catacumbal adjective

Etymology

Origin of catacomb

First recorded before 900; Middle English catacombe, Old English catacumbe, from Late Latin catacumbās (accusative plural); of disputed origin; perhaps from unattested Greek katakýmbās, equivalent to kata- + kýmbās, accusative plural of kýmbē “hollow, cup”; cata-

Example Sentences

We’ll lightly direct the production, voting, for instance, to explore a castle’s catacombs or the mysterious woods.

From Los Angeles Times

A maze themed to Universal’s classic creatures winds through a castle and catacombs with vintage-style horrors and a mid-show scene in which Frankenstein’s monster comes alive.

From Los Angeles Times

How arduous was it to convince the Parisian officials to let you shoot in the catacombs?

From Los Angeles Times

The catacombs beneath a crumbling city have cracked wide open, revealing a vast, spiraling dungeon teeming with strange beasts and stranger plants.

From Salon

Details abound, as we enter the castle’s catacombs amid a sky-high skull wall and pass the likes of the Wolfman, the Mummy and the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

From Los Angeles Times