necropolis

American  

[nuh-krop-uh-lis, ne-] / nəˈkrɒp ə lɪs, nɛ- /

noun

necropolises plural

1. a cemetery, especially one of large size and usually of an ancient city.

2. a historic or prehistoric burial ground.

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necropolis British  

/ nɛˈkrɒpəlɪs /

noun

1. a burial site or cemetery

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• necropolitan
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• necropolises
  plural

Etymology

Origin of necropolis

First recorded in 1810–20, necropolis is from the Greek word nekrópolis burial place (literally, city of the dead). See necro-, -polis

Explanation

Use the noun necropolis to talk about a cemetery, especially an ancient, historical burying ground. You are more likely to find King Tut in a necropolis than your Great Aunt Edna. Any graveyard can be called a necropolis, but the word is best used to describe a very large burying ground made up of tombs, or the ancient grave site of a famous or powerful historical figure. The pyramid at Giza, in Egypt, is an example of a necropolis — it's the tomb of an Egyptian pharaoh. In Latin, necropolis literally means "city of the dead," from the Greek burial site Nekropolis.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

necropolis necropolises

The discovery was made in the Al Bahnasa necropolis, the archaeological site identified with ancient Oxyrhynchus, one of the most important cities of Greco-Roman Egypt.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

Mitch Hutchcraft, Alico’s executive vice president of real estate, agreed to give me a personal tour of this citrus necropolis.

From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026

The Al-Bass site is centred on a necropolis that dates back three millennia to Tyre's time as a major Phoenician city and was still in use until the Arab conquests of the 7h Century.

From Barron's ● Mar. 24, 2026

Today the glamorous necropolis is “the jewel in the crown of cemetery tourism,” Mr. Gallot notes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025

Even though neither of us was superstitious, that necropolis of crosses, cupolas, and tombstones had us pretty nervous.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

Medieval necropolises and Bronze Age burial mounds called kurgans are likewise threatened, researchers write today in Antiquity.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 30, 2023

The array of sanctuaries ranges from expansive necropolises bearing multitudes of soldiers from different nationalities to humbler graveyards and individual monuments.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 20, 2023

“People reused the Etruscan necropolises multiple times to bury their dead,” Posth says.

From Science Magazine ● Sep. 23, 2021

And the public mood turned against necropolises - cities of the dead - as garden-style cemeteries became the norm.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2012

These many-colored necropolises occupy wide acres of land near every center of population in the region, occurring quite commonly along the main entrance highways to neat and historic towns.

From The Nation's River A report on the Potomac from the U.S. Department of the Interior by United States. Dept. of the Interior.