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

Researchers and industry experts said people worry about how conventional death practices such as embalming, fire cremation and casket and vault burials affect the climate, environment and people’s health. —Dorany Pineda, Fortune, 2 May 2026

At Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery in Florida, natural burials are combined with land conservation. —ABC News, 1 May 2026

Farran asked, gazing at their graves — cardboard signs smeared with handwritten Arabic because the war has made a proper burial in their village impossible. —Isabel Debre, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026

Some of these artifacts were placed with the dead as part of burial practices. —Kerri J. Malloy, The Conversation, 30 Apr. 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