mummy

¹ American  

[muhm-ee] / ˈmʌm i /

noun

• mummies
  plural

1. the dead body of a human being or animal, treated with natural or chemical desiccants and preservatives as part of preparation for burial, as notably practiced in ancient Egyptian and South American cultures.

   The Egyptian mummies on display, characteristically wrapped in multiple layers of linen, are more than 3,500 years old.

2. a dead body dried and preserved by nature.

3. a withered or shrunken living being.

   When this mummy of a guy walked in, we were not expecting him to say that he’s our new fitness coach!

4. a dry, shriveled fruit, tuber, or other plant organ, resulting from any of several fungal diseases.

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verb (used with object)

mummied, mummying

1. Archaic. to make into or cause to resemble a mummy; mummify.

mummy ² American  

[muhm-ee] / ˈmʌm i /

noun

Chiefly British Informal.

• mummies
  plural

1. mommy.

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mummy ¹ British  

/ ˈmʌmɪ /

noun

1. an embalmed or preserved body, esp as prepared for burial in ancient Egypt

2. obsolete the substance of such a body used medicinally

3. a mass of pulp

4. a dark brown pigment

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mummy ² British  

/ ˈmʌmɪ /

noun

1. a child's word for mother 1

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unmummied
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• mummies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of mummy¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English mummie, from Medieval Latin mummia, from Arabic mūmiyah “mummy,” literally, “bitumen,” from Persian mūm “wax”

Origin of mummy²

First recorded in 1815–25; mum ⁴ + -y ²

Explanation

A mummy is either a preserved dead body or a British person’s mom, ideally not at the same time. In ancient Egypt, preserving a body as a mummy was part of a religious belief in an afterlife. Today, some bodies are embalmed and preserved after death, but rarely with the same ceremony that preparing a mummy involved. Most mummies were wrapped in cloth and treated with chemicals, after having their internal organs removed. Many countries have ancient mummy traditions, including China, Libya, Iran, and Italy, as well as the country most famous for its mummies, Egypt. The word comes from the Arabic mumiyah.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mummy mummies mummied

The team also made an unexpected discovery: cold-adapted yeast species that likely came from the glacier and have remained on the mummy into the present day.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

The distributor explained that the character depicted was a "living mummy" who was returned to her parents as a young adult, many years after having been kidnapped as a child.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

At some point, it was torn into strips and used to wrap a mummy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

During excavations conducted between November and December 2025, a team led by Núria Castellano uncovered a Roman-era mummy in Tomb 65 of Sector 22.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

She laid a sheet of paper next to her mummy jar.

From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia

"It was really nice to have her in the middle to celebrate that hundred – two mummies," Wyatt-Hodge said.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

Some specimens discovered over the last century retained detailed skin impressions and other soft tissue features, earning the nickname "dinosaur mummies."

From Science Daily ● May 14, 2026

Across all samples, scientists identified 81 distinct VOCs that offer clues about the materials used during the embalming process and the time periods in which the mummies were prepared.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 16, 2026

And while San Francisco may have the famous California Academy of Sciences, San Jose boasts the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, with mummies and a robot version of Thoth, ancient “Keeper of the Mysteries.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026

I’ve seen specials on volcanoes, shark attacks, dogs born with two heads, and the mummies of Egypt.

From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper

A knock on the door, and there stands Heseltine resigning from Mrs. Thatcher's Cabinet, Marcos on the stump, Gaddafi playing cowboy on his tractor, mummied to the nose.

From Time Magazine Archive

Bronwyn hovered anxiously around an old woman who was teetering half-conscious in a chair, mummied up in a blanket.

From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

They picked their way among the mummied figures.

From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

And after the place of dead matter and mummied husks in gloom, where we had been wandering, this burst of leaves in full light was a return to life.

From The Sea and the Jungle by H. M. (Henry Major) Tomlinson

Among the group are the mummied remains of the greatest royal builders, the most renowned warriors, and mightiest monarchs of ancient Egypt.

From Cleopatra's Needle A History of the London Obelisk, with an Exposition of the Hieroglyphics by James King

Related Words

• dwindle
• shrink
• wilt
• wither