sarcophagus
Americannoun
plural
sarcophagi, sarcophaguses-
a stone coffin, especially one bearing sculpture, inscriptions, etc., often displayed as a monument.
-
Greek Antiquity. a kind of stone thought to consume the flesh of corpses, used for coffins.
noun
Etymology
Origin of sarcophagus
1595–1605; < Latin < Greek sarkophágos, noun use of the adj.; sarcophagous
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Inside the mind-blowing 2,000-year-old sarcophagus that was just unsealed.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 25, 2026
The boy king's gold-covered sarcophagus and his burial mask, inlaid with lapis lazuli, will take centre stage at Saturday's opening.
From Barron's • Oct. 31, 2025
Then there’s the late-second-century marble sarcophagus made to house the remains of a husband and wife.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 22, 2025
The researchers used a technique called gas chromatography to separate the different smells inside the sarcophagus that combined to make its scent.
From BBC • Feb. 14, 2025
Even so, it makes me feel like a mummy in a sarcophagus.
From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
