headstone

[ hed-stohn ]

/ ˈhɛdˌstoʊn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR headstone ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a stone marker set at the head of a grave; gravestone.

RELATED WORDS

tombstone, monument, marker, keystone

Nearby words

Origin of headstone

First recorded in 1525–35; head + stone

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for headstone

“Good bye boys, I die a true American,” were his last words, according to the headstone.
Brooklyn’s Gangster Graveyard|Nina Strochlic|October 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Donations flowed in from around the world, and Spann finally got a headstone—30 years after he died.
Blues Musicians in Unmarked Graves Are Finally Getting Some Respect|Malcolm Jones|January 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But the sight of that headstone made his existence more real to me, made me a little more humble and oddly very joyful.
Blues Musicians in Unmarked Graves Are Finally Getting Some Respect|Malcolm Jones|January 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She was buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery on Sept. 16, 2008, with a headstone saying, “Queen of Pin-Ups.”
‘Bettie Page Reveals All,’ A Close-Up Look at the Pinup Goddess and Sexual Icon|Marlow Stern|November 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST

On his headstone is inscribed a simple, ineradicable fact: “Here Lies Eric Arthur Blair.”
Orwell’s Lies: His Diaries Reveal Problems with the Truth|Jimmy So|August 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
When he died, his rich relations put a headstone on his grave, but left it blank.
The Jews of Barnow|Karl Emil Franzos
A mound showed where Anitra had been laid away; a little mound surmounted by a headstone carved with her name.
The Chief Legatee|Anna Katharine Green
He saved all of those lives as it is chiseled on his headstone.
Georgina of the Rainbows|Annie Fellows Johnston
The name on the headstone was Stires, and there was himself—no, a ghost of himself!
Satan Sanderson|Hallie Erminie Rives
It is found, however, on a headstone of a somewhat weak design in Old Hornsey Churchyard.
In Search Of Gravestones Old And Curious|W.T. (William Thomas) Vincent

British Dictionary definitions for headstone

headstone

/ (ˈhɛdˌstəʊn) /

noun

a memorial stone at the head of a grave

architect another name for keystone

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for headstone

headstone

c.1400, "cornerstone," from head (adj.) + stone (n.). Meaning "upright stone at the head of a grave" is 1775, from head (n.).