burial

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noun, often attributive buri·al \ ˈber-ē-əl , ˈbe-rē- also ˈbər- \

Definition of burial

1 :grave, tomb

2 :the act or process of burying

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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 of burial from the Web

After the bodies of her parents had been retrieved to be prepared for burial, Tahera said her mother had three bullet wounds and bruises on her face.

— mujib mashal, New York Times, "Graves Fill an Afghan Mosque’s Garden After a Terrorist Attack," 26 Aug. 2017
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy ordered that U.S. and state flags be lowered to half-staff until Doyon's memorial or burial service.

— sandra gomez-aceves, courant.com, "To State's Dismay, Suffield Sailor Confirmed Dead," 25 Aug. 2017
A mass burial for some of the more than 300 casualties is taking place on Thursday afternoon, Freetown mayor Sam Gibson said in a broadcast on Radio Democracy.

— olivier monnier, Bloomberg.com, "Sierra Leone Braces for More Flooding as Mudslide Victims Buried," 17 Aug. 2017
About 40 people attended a funeral service and burial for Baby Hope in September.

— chicago tribune staff, Wheaton Glen Ellyn, "A year after newborn's body was found near Wheaton, officials still seeking her parents," 16 Aug. 2017
At Wired UK, Hayley Campbell explores this process of water cremation, which a growing number of advocates is calling a cleaner, more efficient, and ultimately less expensive alternative to burial and traditional cremation.

— cheri lucas rowlands, Longreads, "What the Future of Death Looks Like," 16 Aug. 2017
Many bodies were in a horrible state, missing arms, heads or legs, Deveaux said, adding that proper burials will be vital in keeping disease at bay.

— clarence roy-macaulay, The Seattle Times, "At least 600 missing in deadly Sierra Leone mudslides," 15 Aug. 2017
What looks like arid scrubland contains countless Indian burial grounds and other sites sacred to the tribes who lived here: the Nez Perce, the Umatilla, and the Yakama.

— michael lewis, The Hive, "Why the Scariest Nuclear Threat May Be Coming from Inside the White House," 2 Aug. 2017
Beginning in the 1890s, postmortem photography turned toward burial.

— nancy west, The Atlantic, "Pictures of Death," 19 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'burial.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of burial

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

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First Known Use: 13th century

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