cenotaph
noun
a sepulchral monument erected in memory of a deceased person whose body is buried elsewhere.
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cenotaph
American
[sen-uh-taf, -tahf]
/ ˈsɛn əˌtæf, -ˌtɑf /
noun
Cenotaph
1
British
/ ˈsɛnəˌtɑːf /
noun
cenotaph
2
British
/ ˈsɛnəˌtɑːf /
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cenotaph
1595–1605; < Latin cenotaphium < Greek kenotáphion, equivalent to kenó ( s ) empty + -taphion ( táph ( os ) tomb + -ion diminutive suffix)
Explanation
A cenotaph is a monument to the dead, specifically those buried in another place. Cenotaphs are often erected in honor of war veterans. A cenotaph — which is very similar to a tomb — is a memorial to the dead. Unlike a tomb, a cenotaph doesn’t contain the body of the person memorialized, because the remains are elsewhere or couldn’t be recovered. Across the United States, you can find cenotaphs for people who served in World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, and other conflicts. Family members and other citizens leave flowers at cenotaphs to pay respect to the dead.
Vocabulary lists containing cenotaph
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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:
The cenotaph "is not a billboard for claims, however respectable they may be," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2025
The piece - a kneeling soldier among poppies - stands as a backdrop to the cenotaph in Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2023
The meeting took place late that month in Gwangju, by a gray stone cenotaph near the site of the minibus shooting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2023
“A vast cenotaph of secession” was how the journalist and historian Tony Horwitz described Richmond in his 1998 book, “Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches From the Unfinished Civil War.”
From New York Times ● Dec. 26, 2022
In the choir is a cenotaph in white marble to Pius VI., who was exiled in Valence, and who died here in 1799.
From The Cathedrals of Southern France by M. F. (Milburg Francisco) Mansfield
He attended remembrance events in the UK, including the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey and the Cenotaph Parade.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
More than 20 different faith groups were represented around the plain stone of the Cenotaph, with clerical robes mixing in with the military uniforms.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2025
This week will see annual Remembrance events, including the ceremony at the Cenotaph in Whitehall on Sunday.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2025
London's Cenotaph will become a focal point for quiet reflection when commemorations begin on Bank Holiday Monday.
From BBC ● May 2, 2025
La Perouse erected a monument to the memory of his unfortunate countrymen, in the middle of the bay, on an island which he called the Cenotaph.
From Celebrated Travels and Travellers Part 2. The Great Navigators of the Eighteenth Century by Léon Benett
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
