Jump To:

• tombstone
  tombstone

  noun

  a stone marker, usually inscribed, on a tomb or grave.
• Tombstone
  Tombstone

  noun

  a town in the US, in Arizona: scene of the gunfight at the OK Corral in 1881. Pop: 1547 (2003 est)

tombstone

American  

[toom-stohn] / ˈtumˌstoʊn /

noun

tombstones plural

1. a stone marker, usually inscribed, on a tomb or grave.

---

Tombstone ¹ British  

/ ˈtuːmˌstəʊn /

noun

1. a town in the US, in Arizona: scene of the gunfight at the OK Corral in 1881. Pop: 1547 (2003 est)

---

tombstone ² British  

/ ˈtuːmˌstəʊn /

noun

1. another word for gravestone

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tombstones
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tombstone

First recorded in 1555–65; tomb + stone

Example Sentences

Celan called it a tombstone for his mother.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

But his tombstone was defaced on Thursday morning, local authorities said.

From Barron's • Oct. 9, 2025

Instead, it was placed on her grave as a tombstone out of respect for the contribution the woman had made to the community's food security.

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2025

They'll just put "American Psycho," the Huey Lewis scene, his business card scene or whatever on my tombstone, and you have to kind of accept it.

From Salon • Apr. 14, 2025

Ash went to the row farthest from the church, and there on the third tombstone she found her father’s name.

From "Ash" by Malinda Lo

Related Words

• gravestone
• marker
• memorial
• monument