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

As grief turns to accusation, Warmooge’s mother refuses burial without justice, and the village fractures under the weight of uncertainty and pressure to resolve the truth. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2026

The Palmyra relief—a soaring limestone sculpture depicting a reclining man attended by women and children—was created for a burial chamber in the late 2nd century CE. — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 24 Sep. 2026

Plus, the skeleton’s burial inside the castle suggests the siege continued for some time after his death—and once the War Wolf did its thing, the siege was over. — Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 23 Sep. 2026

Unlike in mainland China, Hong Kong runs on a common-law system, which means a jury will decide whether the trio should be found guilty ofChoi’s murder and of preventing the lawful burial of her body. — Chris Lau, CNN Money, 21 Sep. 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