gravestone

[ greyv-stohn ]

noun

1. a stone marking a grave, usually giving the name, date of death, etc., of the person buried there.

gravestone

/ ˈɡreɪvˌstəʊn /

noun

1. a stone marking a grave and usually inscribed with the name and dates of the person buried

Word History and Origins

Origin of gravestone¹

A Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; grave ¹, stone

Example Sentences

Obama’s words stuck with me as I walked along through the ocean of gravestones, pausing occasionally to read the names, the inscriptions, and wonder what each person was like.

From Washington Blade

I was placing flowers by my parents’ gravestone, in front of memorials to my grandparents, great-grandparents and sundry uncles and aunts.

From Time

Looking back, I am so grateful for the time I had not knowing that a gravestone is the closest we will ever get to Bryan.

From The Daily Beast

Elizabeth interferes, in everything from the baby’s gravestone to the lawsuit she pushes forward in order to punish Eva.

From Time

Also, Killer Blues did not make a gravestone for Gatemouth Brown.

From The Daily Beast

He kneeled by the gravestone of Corporal James Cavaco and placed a rock on top of it.

From The Daily Beast

But within a year he came up with his best-ever idea—encapsulated in an equation that he said he wanted on his gravestone.

From The Daily Beast

His gravestone, which read "Ich hab's gewagt," or "I have dared," was taken down, according to Germany's Spiegel Online.

From The Daily Beast

Soon the gravestone disappeared under all the floral tributes.

From The Daily Beast

I copied it myself from a gravestone in the churchyard of the village of Wingfield, Suffolk.

From Project Gutenberg

As he entered the suburb, he drew up by the statuary of whom he had purchased his mother's gravestone.

From Project Gutenberg

A marriage there was—God yet will proclaim the right—and the name of Beaufort shall be yet placed on my mother's gravestone.

From Project Gutenberg

Even the gravestone of Catherine, half in moonlight, half in shadow, appeared to him to wear a smile.

From Project Gutenberg

This was the first time I had been struck by an allegorical gravestone of a pronounced character.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• headstone
• marker
• masterpiece
• mausoleum
• pillar
• shrine
• slab
• statue
• stele
• stone
• tablet
• testament
• tomb
• tombstone
• tribute