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.; see sarcophagous
Explanation
If you want to go out in style, buy yourself a sarcophagus — a very fancy coffin usually decorated with elaborate carvings. If King Tut could arrange it, so can you! Sarcophagus comes from the Greek word sarkophagos meaning "limestone used for coffins." But the Greek literally translates to mean "flesh-eating." Seems a bit gruesome, doesn't it? This translation makes sense when you figure that limestone was used in coffins because it quickly decomposed the body. These stone coffins are usually decorated with a sculpture or inscription and date back to the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Rome, and Greece.
Vocabulary lists containing sarcophagus
Ancient Egypt - Introductory
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Ancient Egypt - Middle School and High School
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Cemetery Boys
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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.
He later helped build the first sarcophagus covering the reactor, as well as the second one, which was damaged by a Russian drone strike in 2025.
From Barron's • Apr. 25, 2026
Inside the mind-blowing 2,000-year-old sarcophagus that was just unsealed.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 25, 2026
Yet collectively they suggest a frieze on an antique sarcophagus, aligned on the rosy ledge across the bottom of the painting, their heads forming a horizontal row with that of Jesus.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026
But he said that "the risk is low" because contaminated dust is contained within a thick concrete "sarcophagus" which is covered by the protective shield.
From BBC • Dec. 7, 2025
Claudia hid her violin case in a sarcophagus that had no lid.
From "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg
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.
