sepulchre
Americannoun
noun
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a burial vault, tomb, or grave
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Also called: Easter sepulchre. a separate alcove in some medieval churches in which the Eucharistic elements were kept from Good Friday until the Easter ceremonies
verb
Etymology
Origin of sepulchre
C12: from Old French sépulcre, from Latin sepulcrum, from sepelīre to bury
Explanation
There are many possible resting places for your body once you die, and a sepulcher is the best option if you want a fancy room made entirely from stone. Think it over, because you can only choose once. Crypts, mausoleums, sarcophagi, sepulchers: each one is a place to bury someone, with slight variations. A sepulcher (or if you’re British you’ll spell it sepulchre) is basically a stone room with a stone coffin where your body lies. The word comes from the Latin sepulcrum, which means “burial place,” for obvious reasons. Pronouncing sepulcher could trick you, because the ch actually sounds like a k: "SEP-ul-ker."
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.
In March, there was an international outcry after Israeli police prevented the top Roman Catholic leader in Jerusalem from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for a private Mass on Palm Sunday.
From BBC • May 1, 2026
Israeli security forces imposed restrictions on access to the Holy Sepulchre in annexed east Jerusalem, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and rose from the dead.
From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026
It is why Vice President JD Vance insisted that he visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre during a recent trip to Israel.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025
Earlier Sunday, Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre — revered as the site of Jesus’s crucifixion — also held a service.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 24, 2024
Model, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem.
From Annals of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, A.D. 1598-A.D. 1867 With a Preliminary Notice of the earlier Library founded in the Fourteenth Century by Macray, William Dunn
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.
