tomb

1 of 2

noun

ˈtüm 

1

a

: an excavation in which a corpse is buried : grave

b

: a place of interment

2

: a house, chamber, or vault for the dead

3

: a building or structure resembling a tomb (as in appearance)

tombless

ˈtüm-ləs 

adjective

tomb

2 of 2

verb

tombed; tombing; tombs

transitive verb

: bury, entomb

Synonyms

Noun

• grave
• burial
• sepulcher
• cemetery
• sepulchre

Verb

• bury
• inter

Examples of tomb in a Sentence

Noun

the tomb of Alexander the Great

explored the historic graveyard and saw tombs that dated back two centuries

Verb

Forest Lawn is where many of Tinseltown's immortals are tombed for all eternity.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Visitors walk among ancient walls and tombs, uncovering stories that span from Roman London to World War II. —Joseph V Micallef, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025

Known both as a common crop mold and a lurking danger in ancient tombs, its spores have been linked to mysterious deaths — from King Tutankhamun’s 1920s excavation to a 1970s Polish royal tomb incident that apparently killed several archaeologists. —Jenny Lehmann, Discover Magazine, 24 June 2025

Verb

In order to become proper Chinese third graders—to go all the way from Heaven to tomb—Natasha and Ariel needed to memorize a total of sixteen hundred characters. —Peter Hessler, The New Yorker, 26 June 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English tombe, from Anglo-French tumbe, from Late Latin tumba sepulchral mound, from Greek tymbos; perhaps akin to Latin tumēre to be swollen — more at thumb entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tomb

• blume
• boom
• broom
• doom
• flume
• fume
• gloom
• glume
• groom
• loom
• plume
• rheum

Kids Definition

tomb

noun

ˈtüm

1

: grave entry 2 sense 1

2

: a house or burial chamber for dead people