death mask
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of death mask
First recorded in 1875–80
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.
King Tut was famously discovered with his face sheathed in a gold death mask that weighed over 20 pounds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
His death mask is held at Moyse Hall and Norwich Castle.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2025
“She had the death mask of her mother.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2023
Stepping back, seemingly mirrored profiles of Cajal himself emerge from dark sides of the drawing, traced from the shadow of his death mask.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 26, 2022
She couldn’t see it on his face, which was like a death mask: grim and lifeless with hollows for eyes.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
Definitions 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.
