embalm
Americanverb (used with object)
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to treat (a dead body) so as to preserve it, as with chemicals, drugs, or balsams.
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to preserve from oblivion; keep in memory.
his deeds embalmed in the hearts of his disciples.
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to cause to remain unchanged; prevent the development of.
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to impart a balmy fragrance to.
verb
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to treat (a dead body) with preservatives, as by injecting formaldehyde into the blood vessels, to retard putrefaction
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to preserve or cherish the memory of
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poetic to give a sweet fragrance to
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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embalmsimple
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embalmssimple
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have embalmedperfect
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has embalmedperfect
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am embalmingprogressive
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are embalmingprogressive
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is embalmingprogressive
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have been embalmingperfect progressive
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has been embalmingperfect progressive
Past
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embalmedsimple
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had embalmedperfect
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was embalmingprogressive
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were embalmingprogressive
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had been embalmingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of embalm
1300–50; Middle English embalmen, embaumen < Old French emba ( u ) smer, equivalent to em- em- 1 + -ba ( u ) smer, verbal derivative of ba ( u ) sme balm
Explanation
To embalm is to prepare a body for a funeral or burial. Part of a funeral director's job is to embalm the bodies of people who have died. Various traditions of death and burial require a dead body to be preserved with chemicals, and when someone does this, she's said to embalm the body. Occasionally, there are also medical research or educational reasons to embalm a body. Embalm has an Old French root, embaumer, "preserve a corpse with spices."
Vocabulary lists containing embalm
Ancient Egypt - Introductory
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The Things They Carried
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Ancient Egypt - Middle School and High School
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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:
It can also be dangerous to embalm traditions, Burke believed, noting that “a state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
They claim that Risher breached the contract with the family by failing to professionally embalm Ramos’ remains and treat the body with the dignity and care required by California law.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2026
Before the 90-day waiting period is over, mortuaries are not allowed to embalm or cremate people without authorization from their next of kin, so the cooler is the only way to keep remains preserved.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 12, 2024
It is used to embalm dead bodies and to make perfume, incense and medicine.
From BBC ● Jan. 4, 2023
Someone had to embalm her before Mollie saw her.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
But currently in the mortuary, Ms Walton embalms about three to four bodies a day.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2023
Zahn, owner of the Tillman Funeral Home & Crematory, embalms and buries people for a living.
From BusinessWeek ● Oct. 24, 2013
Among them is Paccione Funeral Directors in Staten Island, which embalms up to 140 bodies a month.
From New York Times ● Jul. 20, 2011
The average funeral home embalms about 150 bodies a year, suggesting that many embalmers are not exposed to formaldehyde throughout the day.
From New York Times ● Jul. 20, 2011
The nominalization rule takes a perfectly spry verb and embalms it into a lifeless noun by adding a suffix like -ance, -ment, -ation, or -ing.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
A biographer of Celan must decide how to come near poems that seem to resist approach, and a life that has been embalmed by its own legend.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Lukashenko visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun -- where Kim's embalmed father and grandfather lie in state -- to pay his respects, flanked by top North Korean officials, the report said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 25, 2026
In 2012, the team said it received “problematic” documents from coroners detailing how one infant wasn’t autopsied until after its body was embalmed and how another’s death certificate didn’t match what the autopsy found.
From Salon ● Dec. 3, 2024
It also meant his body could not be embalmed, as the family had wanted.
From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2024
We went into the gym, along a marble hallway, and to my surprise we went on past the Trophy Room, where his name was already inscribed on one cup, one banner, and one embalmed football.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
Instead, it reflects a complex blend of substances used during embalming, along with preserved fabrics and materials wrapped around the body.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 16, 2026
Funeral homes charge for embalming, caskets, vaults and funeral services.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026
"The embalming chemical, when we injected it into different main arteries, kept oozing out," Dr Bhargava writes.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2025
The dark dramedy “Six Feet Under” also revolved around a dysfunctional family generations in the embalming business.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2025
The undertaker demanded $1,450 for the casket, $100 for preparing and embalming the body, and $25 for the rental of a hearse.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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.
