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

Stewart questioned: "Is there no one who can offer a more nuanced analysis of our newly formulated position in this conflict, preferably in some type of catacomb or echoey tunnel?"

From Salon • May 10, 2024

The offer was appealing enough to entice a wine connoisseur down to a dank, dungeonlike catacomb — despite his terrible hacking cough — to sample it.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 20, 2023

The more time I spent with Roderick in that life-sucking catacomb as he obsequiously pandered to his Jackie, the more I began to see the cracks in her fading infatuation.

From Slate • Apr. 15, 2022

In this 1961 painting by Remedios Varo, a radiant orange woman moves through a blue catacomb lined with stone-cold, female figures with their eyes closed.

From Washington Post • Jul. 15, 2021

For a time, sunshine trickles into the tunnels through the catacomb grates, weakly lighting the floor.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir