Pompeii

[ pom-pey, -pey-ee ]

/ pɒmˈpeɪ, -ˈpeɪ i /

noun

an ancient city in SW Italy, on the Bay of Naples: it was buried along with Herculaneum by an eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius in a.d. 79; much of the city has been excavated.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for pompeii

Yea, OK, so Pompeii has movies with Jon Snow, songs, and millions of visitors—but is it under water?!
The World’s Craziest Underwater Adventures|Nina Strochlic|May 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I came back from doing Pompeii and that had helped me with my fighting skills.
Kit Harington: Game of Thrones’ Jon Snow Learns to Fight Dirty|Marlow Stern|April 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Pompeii is an easy target because of its size and because it is badly guarded.
Pompeii Made It Through a Volcano, but Can It Survive Vandals?|Barbie Latza Nadeau|March 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Husks of homes, some of them choked in jungular vines, furnish a tropical Pompeii for viewers on the disaster bus tours.
Eight Years After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans Has Been Resurrected|Jason Berry|August 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Pompeii is at risk of becoming a wasteland as its ruins disintegrate to dust due to lack of maintenance.
Italy’s Culture Falling to Ruins Amid Austerity Cuts|Barbie Latza Nadeau|September 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Passing out from the Forum under the arch at the northeast corner, we enter the broadest street in Pompeii.
Pompeii, Its Life and Art|August Mau
The lava, which came originally from Vesuvius, was quarried 36 at Pompeii.
Pompeii, Its Life and Art|August Mau
But from the soil which has grown over the barren pumice that covers Pompeii, I was enabled to make a curious observation.
Observations on Mount Vesuvius, Mount Etna, and Other Volcanos|William Hamilton
This sign is found on many houses at Pompeii, and was throughout Europe the common indication of a money-changers office.
Old Country Inns of England|Henry P. Maskell
With the museums of Naples before us, we can reconstruct all the triclinia of Pompeii at a glance.
The Wonders of Pompeii|Marc Monnier

British Dictionary definitions for pompeii

Pompeii

/ (pɒmˈpeɪiː) /

noun

an ancient city in Italy, southeast of Naples: buried by an eruption of Vesuvius (79 ad); excavation of the site, which is extremely well preserved, began in 1748

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

Cultural definitions for pompeii

Pompeii

[ (pom-pay, pom-pay-ee) ]

A city of the Roman Empire, on the Italian seacoast, that was known for the luxury and dissipated ways of its citizens. It was destroyed in the first century by an eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius.