embalm
Americanverb (used with object)
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embalms,
present (3rd person singular)
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embalmed,
past participle, past
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embalming
present participle
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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
It is used to embalm dead bodies and to make perfume, incense and medicine.
From BBC ● Jan. 4, 2023
Cremation, for example, is an energy-intense process that produces carbon dioxide emissions, while traditional burial uses chemicals to embalm bodies and a nonbiodegradable coffin to store them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2022
“I had no desire to embalm or freeze artists who were still alive and making work.”
From New York Times ● Sep. 13, 2022
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
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
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 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
And Stalin himself, whose body was initially interred in the same mausoleum that housed the embalmed Vladimir Lenin, was subjected to criticism for some of his evil deeds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
A local undertaker said the embalmed remains of the Iranian sailors were being sent back in sealed boxes.
From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026
It also meant his body could not be embalmed, as the family had wanted.
From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2024
To take an example from last year, “Talk to Me,” a horror film about an embalmed hand that lets people commune with the dead, became a box office hit, grossing $92 million worldwide.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 19, 2024
Westing was already embalmed; tomorrow he would be cremated.
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
They grouped the compounds into four main categories connected to specific embalming ingredients.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 16, 2026
The family paid Risher $4,131 for funeral and embalming services in preparation for the funeral held at Casa Funeral Espinoza in Mexico.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2026
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
Eventually, the discovery of formaldehyde and the use of embalming fluids reduced the demand for cadavers, as did the growing number of people donating their bodies to science.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 5, 2026
Listen, he told himself, no one can be buried alive these days, not like in the olden times when there was no embalming fluid and stuff.
From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier
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.
