entomb
Americanverb (used with object)
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to place in a tomb; bury; inter.
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to serve as a tomb for.
Florentine churches entomb many great men.
verb
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to place in or as if in a tomb; bury; inter
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to serve as a tomb for
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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entombsimple
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entombssimple
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have entombedperfect
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has entombedperfect
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am entombingprogressive
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are entombingprogressive
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is entombingprogressive
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have been entombingperfect progressive
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has been entombingperfect progressive
Past
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entombedsimple
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had entombedperfect
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was entombingprogressive
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were entombingprogressive
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had been entombingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of entomb
1425–75; late Middle English entoumben < Middle French entomber. See en- 1, tomb
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:
Low property prices in the country mean that for many, it is more affordable to entomb the ashes of relatives in an empty apartment than pay for funeral costs.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026
After fasting, monks would entomb themselves in a stone chamber underground or in a coffin, chanting prayers until they passed on.
From National Geographic ● Jan. 19, 2024
The tension of not knowing whether the slow-moving molten rock would entomb their homes, farmland and businesses is taking a toll on local people, Rodríguez said.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 21, 2021
Mr. Cizinsky said that if — somehow — he prevailed and was able to entomb the bodies, he would do so quietly and with dignity.
From New York Times ● Jul. 1, 2017
Together with verbal coffins like model and level in which writers entomb their actors and actions, the English language provides them with a dangerous weapon called nominalization: making something into a noun.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
John Boorman’s bold, unnerving crime film “Point Blank” entombs its potent emotions within opaque performances, stripped-down dialogue and a cool-to-the-touch visual style.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
In a tragic extension of this structure, Moonlight entombs even Chiron’s adulthood in the confines of the closet.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2018
Joy’s mother, defeated by divorce, entombs herself in her bedroom, a man-fearing Miss Havisham addicted to soap operas.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 31, 2015
And just off a beach covered in sharp coral, a graveyard swallowed by the jungle entombs dozens of fishermen.
From Time ● Mar. 25, 2015
The King within the cave his seer entombs, And mourning sadly from the cavern comes; The entrance closes with the rocks around, Again upon his journey he is bound.
From Babylonian and Assyrian Literature by Anonymous
Spontaneous applause erupted — and even some tears were shed — at the battered parking structure where Gil had been entombed since the two temblors struck within seconds of each other on June 24.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
Full of sorrow and restraint, the opening verses are entombed by muffled synths before Liene explodes into an operatic wail of catharsis in the dying moments.
From BBC ● May 8, 2026
In scenes that resemble a dystopian sci-fi movie, their widespread use has left swathes of frontline cities and fields entombed in webs of cable.
From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026
Many of Tehran’s nuclear assets are entombed inside bombed facilities or at less-affected sites.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 1, 2026
Like certain ancient frescoes entombed for centuries suddenly exposed to the day.
From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
In March, Chinese authorities banned entombing cremated remains in empty apartments, a practice that took off as mourners tried to dodge rising funeral costs.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
Two days later, they retrieved the bulldozer and filled the hole, entombing those stories in the old dining room forever.
From Salon ● May 29, 2023
Underwater avalanches buried anemones and other soft-bodied animals, entombing them to become fossils.
From Science Magazine ● Mar. 29, 2023
Many drawers and cabinets are sealed, and an upper deck has collapsed, entombing Franklin’s cabin and making it “a very difficult but enticing place,” Mr. Harris said.
From New York Times ● Feb. 20, 2020
It is positively painful to see elaborately carved and gilded cases, costing, perhaps, a hundred guineas a-piece, entombing a few wretchedly-mounted specimens worth, perhaps, less than £5 the lot.
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.
