burial

noun

buri·​al ˈber-ē-əl 

ˈbe-rē-

also ˈbər-ē-

often attributive

1

: grave, tomb

2

: the act or process of burying

Synonyms of burial

• funeral
• interment
• entombment
• burying

Examples of burial in a Sentence

They prepared the body for burial.

She wanted to give him a proper burial.

Did you attend the burial?

The law prohibits the burial of toxic substances without special permits.

Recent Examples on the Web

Meanwhile, the cemetery – the final resting place for more than 400,000 service members, veterans and their eligible dependents – continues to conduct up to 30 burials each weekday. —Mike Snider, USA Today, 23 May 2026

In 2012 and 2022, the discovery of a royal tomb containing an astonishing 58 elite females, 1,300 artifacts, six human sacrifices, and the burials of elite craftsmen alongside gold, silver, and bronze tools brought the site international attention. —Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 23 May 2026

Resistance to rules for safe burials of Ebola victims leads to clashes with health teams. —Justin Kabumba, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2026

The incident underscored growing tensions between health officials enforcing strict Ebola containment measures and local customs surrounding funerals and burial rites. —Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 22 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English beriel, berial, back-formation from beriels (taken as a plural), from Old English byrgels; akin to Old Saxon burgisli tomb, Old English byrgan to bury — more at bury

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing burial

• burial ground
• burial plot

Rhymes for burial

• actuarial
• adversarial
• secretarial
• urticarial
• aerial
• areal
• ariel
• antimalarial
• biserial
• filarial
• malarial
• subaerial

Kids Definition

burial

noun

buri·​al ˈber-ē-əl 

: the act of burying