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 of tomb

Noun

• burial
• grave
• 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

The Drenthepad covers roughly 340 kilometers (211 miles) across the unspoiled Dutch province of Drenthe, passing megalithic tombs, heathlands, forests and small villages, and crossing three national parks. —Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 4 June 2026

The route passes megalithic tombs, heathlands, forests and small villages, and crosses three different national parks along the way. —Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 4 June 2026

Marble is ubiquitous, sourced from quarries from Carrara to Sicily, including the Breccia Pontifici, the stone preferred by Bernini, used for the tomb of Pope Urban VIII in St Peter’s Basilica. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026

An Egyptian team from the Supreme Council of Antiquities uncovered the objects beneath a mudbrick tomb containing human remains. —Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 1 June 2026

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

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

13th 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