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.
The government sought to exhume Dossett’s body for a more-thorough autopsy.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
Breaking for health tests, Ruci stayed there until October 7, when judicial authorities agreed to exhume his son's body for toxicology tests.
From Barron's • Oct. 23, 2025
She informs Pozner that the only way she’ll believe him is if he agrees to exhume Noah’s body.
From Salon • Mar. 26, 2024
Unwilling to leave this photograph in the archive, Thorsson, now an associate professor of English at the University of Oregon, decided to exhume the story behind the image.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 2, 2023
Shady could get almost nothing to exhume an almost- unknown pile of rocks on the coast.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
