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
- epitaphic adjective
- epitaphist noun
- epitaphless adjective
- unepitaphed adjective
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
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.
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
Imagine being dealt this terrible hand, and still having that be your epitaph.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 22, 2023
It would make a good epitaph for Billy Pilgrim—and for me, too.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
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.
