epitaph
Americannoun
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a commemorative inscription on a tomb or mortuary monument about the person buried at that site.
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a brief poem or other writing in praise of a deceased person.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a commemorative inscription on a tombstone or monument
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a speech or written passage composed in commemoration of a dead person
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a final judgment on a person or thing
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of epitaph
1350–1400; Middle English epitaphe < Latin epitaphium < Greek epitáphion over or at a tomb, equivalent to epi- epi- + táph ( os ) tomb + -ion noun, adj. suffix
Explanation
An epitaph is an inscription on a gravestone. Famous for his comedic jabs at the City of Brotherly Love, writer W.C. Fields once said he wanted "I'd rather be living in Philadelphia" as the epitaph on his tombstone. Once you trace this word back to its origins, you'll never forget its meaning. Forms of it show up in Middle English, Old French, Latin, and, before that, Greek: epi- "upon" and taphos "tomb." This gives us a mini history lesson on burial traditions. For thousands of years various societies have carved poetic, weepy, and witty words onto the monuments marking the final resting places of famous and infamous citizens.
Vocabulary lists containing epitaph
A Raisin in the Sun
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Bob Dylan Wins Nobel Prize in Literature
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Much Ado About Nothing
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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.
If we were to assign his TV father an epitaph, he could do a lot worse than the unvarnished speech that closes the first season.
From Salon • Jul. 24, 2025
In words he shared with teenagers, Prefontaine wrote his own best epitaph: “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2025
If this ends up being Cronenberg’s last, he’ll have gone out with a worldly, weighty epitaph.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2025
After the manner in which England’s campaign was conducted, it was both comedy gold and the perfect epitaph for those few weeks in France.
From BBC • Jul. 13, 2024
And no greater tribute can be paid to you as parents, and no greater epitaph can come to them as children, than where they died and what they were doing when they died.
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
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.
