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

The suit is seeking yet-unspecified damages to help cover burial and funeral costs. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 9 Sep. 2026

Since May, health workers and burial teams such as Adolphe's have been attacked by bereaved families across the front line of the outbreak. — ABC News, 7 Sep. 2026

Surnames like McKenzie, Adams and Scribner make frequent appearances on headstones at the roughly 600-grave cemetery, which is still allows burials of descendants of the town or people who live nearby. — Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 6 Sep. 2026

Owing to constant construction noise, daily burials at the cemetery would no longer take place in silence. — Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 4 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