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

After news broke of Diana’s death in August 1997, at the age of 36, Sarah and her sister Jane traveled to Paris with Prince Charles to bring Diana’s body home to England for burial, per AP News. — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 29 July 2026

Graham's burial Wednesday near his home in Pickens County was planned as a private ceremony. — ABC News, 29 July 2026

Tønsberg and Borre At Borre, the Midgard Viking Centre sits beside the largest collection of monumental Viking Age burial mounds in Northern Europe. — Bailey Berg, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026

Its advocates preach the environmental and emotional benefits of natural burials and encourage mourners to bear witness to a corpse in its unprocessed state before it is borne away to a funeral home. — John Semley, Harpers Magazine, 28 July 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