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

Before his body was taken the cemetery for burial, a bell was rung, symbolizing the end of his shift. —Chris Lau, CNN Money, 19 Dec. 2025

According to the Poetry Foundation, Fitzpatrick grew up in the western suburb of Lombard, where his father worked as a burial vault salesman. —Adam Harrington, CBS News, 18 Dec. 2025

The Russian research vessel Akademik Ioffe has identified an undocumented burial site of radioactive waste in the Barents Sea. —Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 17 Dec. 2025

Following Prentice's death and burial in his mausoleum, Wicks' mother, Grace (Annie Hamilton), had ransacked the chapel searching for the diamond in her desperation to escape her life of shame and mistreatment at the church, but died in her pursuit of it. —Megan McCluskey, Time, 12 Dec. 2025

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

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

Kids Definition

burial

noun

buri·​al ˈber-ē-əl 

: the act of burying