exhume
Americanverb (used with object)
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to dig (something buried, especially a dead body) out of the earth; disinter.
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to revive or restore after neglect or a period of forgetting; bring to light.
to exhume a literary reputation; to exhume old letters.
verb
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to dig up (something buried, esp a corpse); disinter
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to reveal; disclose; unearth
don't exhume that old argument
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of exhume
1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin exhumāre, equivalent to Latin ex- ex- 1 + humāre to inter
Explanation
When you see your mysterious neighbor digging around in his backyard, you may wonder if he’s trying to exhume something. Chances are he’s only digging up potatoes — when you exhume something, it means you’re digging up a corpse. The word exhume traces back to the Latin word exhumare, a combination of ex-, meaning “out of,” and humus, or “ground.” That meaning holds true today: when you exhume something, you dig it up out of the ground. The word almost always applies to the removing of a previously buried corpse, such as law enforcement officials who exhume a body to perform an autopsy or collect evidence related to an investigation.
Vocabulary lists containing exhume
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
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Beloved
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This Week in Words: July 22 - 29, 2017
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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.
"Exhume our idols and bury our friends," they sing on "Bury Our Friends."
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 14, 2015
Scientists Exhume the Heart of Richard the Lionheart Scientists are examining the embalmed heart of Richard the Lionheart, who died in 1199.
From Newsweek • Mar. 3, 2013
Exhume , to dig out of the ground, or in the case of a fossil, to take out of its place of burial in the rock.
From Unexplored! by Chaffee, Allen
Exhume, eks-hūm′, v.t. to take out of the ground or place of burial: to disinter: to bring to light—also Ex′humate.—ns.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
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.
