tomb

1 of 2

noun

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 adjective

tomb

2 of 2

verb

tombed; tombing; tombs

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
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Noun
In 1926, soldiers began guarding the tomb during daylight hours. Mark Jones, The Arizona Republic, 11 Nov. 2024 However, on one occasion, a masked spirit appeared unexpectedly and began to dance among the tombs. Arath Zumaya Muñoz, Vogue, 2 Nov. 2024
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 See all Example Sentences for tomb 

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of tomb was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near tomb

Cite this Entry

“Tomb.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tomb. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

tomb

noun
ˈtüm
1
2
: a house or burial chamber for dead people

More from Merriam-Webster on tomb

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