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
He’s a top adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who shared a cartoon of Mr. Trump as a crumbling sarcophagus.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 12, 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
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
Without a mummy and sarcophagus, there is no Great Tomb Project at all.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
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.
