tomb

American  

[toom] / tum /

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.

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verb (used with object)

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

tomb British  

/ 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

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verb

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

Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of tomb

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

Example Sentences

Though concentrated, it’s situated among newly refreshed spaces containing lavishly ornamented mummy coffins, carved grave stelae, canopic jars, tomb wall reliefs and the preserved body of a woman named Gautseshenu.

From The Wall Street Journal

It culminates above the ancient tombs and temples of Luxor, Egypt, where trips are selling swiftly.

From The Wall Street Journal

The tiles were on a panel by the tomb of Ottoman Sultan Selim II in the garden of the Hagia Sophia.

From Barron's

There is little doubt that a crumbling Egyptian economy circa 1,100 B.C. prompted the country’s early leadership to loot the tombs.

From The Wall Street Journal

Why couldn’t I keep it locked up forever, in the tomb of my own body?

From Literature

Related Words

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