tomb

[toom]

noun

1. an excavation in earth or rock for the burial of a corpse; grave.

2. a mausoleum, burial chamber, or the like.

3. a monument for housing or commemorating a dead person.

4. any sepulchral structure.

verb (used with object)

1. to place in or as if in a tomb; entomb; bury.

tomb

/ tuːm /

noun

1. a place, esp a vault beneath the ground, for the burial of a corpse

2. a stone or other monument to the dead

3. a poetic term for death

4. anything serving as a burial place

   the sea was his tomb

verb

1. rare,  (tr) to place in a tomb; entomb

Other Word Forms

• tombal adjective
• tombless adjective
• tomblike adjective
• untombed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tomb¹

1225–75; Middle English tumbe < Anglo-French; Old French tombe < Late Latin tumba < Greek týmbos burial mound; akin to Latin tumēre to swell. See tumor, tumulus

Word History and Origins

Origin of tomb¹

C13: from Old French tombe, from Late Latin tumba burial mound, from Greek tumbos; related to Latin tumēre to swell, Middle Irish tomm hill

Example Sentences

The team created a detailed map of ancient tomb sites across the country to look for patterns in how these burial locations changed through time.

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They are built to be tombs for the pharaohs.

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An ancient box tomb thought to be built in the 1700s has collapsed in a church cemetery, exposing a large underground crypt.

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"I never got a chance to see a tomb where my uncle got buried," Mr Mutuku says.

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The religious complex is believed to house the tomb of the first Shia Imam - a religious leader believed to hold divine knowledge.

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Related Words

• burial 
• coffin 
• mausoleum 
• monument 
• pit 
• vault