as in monuments
a shaped stone laid over or erected near a grave and usually bearing an inscription to identify and preserve the memory of the deceased
the historic cemetery's many tombstones marking the graves of children are telling reminders of the harshness of pioneer life
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tombstones
Last year, the City Council approved an ordinance to offer rewards for information involving theft of city plaques, tombstones, statues, light standards, and copper wire, and theft of metals linked to the Sixth Street Bridge.
—
City News Service, Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026
By day the place was filled with different sorts of tombstones, many of them inside ornamental enclosures.
—Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
People used to come to my hotel and leave tombstones and pictures of dead babies.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 11 Feb. 2026
Their names are listed in the African American Museum’s exhibit, but not at the cemetery as there are no tombstones left there – except for a few.
—Dallas Morning News, 31 Jan. 2026
Additional excavations could bring answers, Frame communicated, with the team hoping to find alters — tombstones frequently included the units soldiers belonged to.
—Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 6 Jan. 2026
Concrete beams standing in the dirt like tall tombstones.
—Daniel Estrin, NPR, 7 Nov. 2025
After days of cleaning graves and decorating tombstones, the graveyard is awash in color and flickering candles.
—Rocío Muñoz-Ledo, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2025
Other shipments containing cauldron, skeleton, or tombstones in the product description are up.
—Lori Ann Larocco, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2025
City News Service, Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026
By day the place was filled with different sorts of tombstones, many of them inside ornamental enclosures.
—Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
People used to come to my hotel and leave tombstones and pictures of dead babies.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 11 Feb. 2026
Their names are listed in the African American Museum’s exhibit, but not at the cemetery as there are no tombstones left there – except for a few.
—Dallas Morning News, 31 Jan. 2026
Additional excavations could bring answers, Frame communicated, with the team hoping to find alters — tombstones frequently included the units soldiers belonged to.
—Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 6 Jan. 2026
Concrete beams standing in the dirt like tall tombstones.
—Daniel Estrin, NPR, 7 Nov. 2025
After days of cleaning graves and decorating tombstones, the graveyard is awash in color and flickering candles.
—Rocío Muñoz-Ledo, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2025
Other shipments containing cauldron, skeleton, or tombstones in the product description are up.
—Lori Ann Larocco, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tombstones
Noun
-
The videos also testify to Italy’s reverence for the design house, giving it access to palaces and monuments normally closed to commercial activity.—
Jane Wooldridge,
Miami Herald,
19 Feb. 2026
-
A week later, the Grant Park Columbus statue was removed, to the cheers of people who said monuments to Columbus are insults to Indigenous Americans.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
There is a pile of landscaping stones on the Nolan’s property near where the impact occurred.—
Matthew Adams,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
23 Feb. 2026
-
Canada had three stones in scoring positions, and they were spread across the house, like a split in bowling.—
Matt Slater,
New York Times,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Many gravestones were broken and lay crumbled on the ground.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Brothers Keith and Terrence Nicks were found guilty by separate juries of desecration of human remains, removal of human remains and removal of more than 10 gravestones and markers.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The result was a database of over 5,000 headstones marking where over 6,000 individuals had been laid to rest.—
Robbyn Abbitt,
The Conversation,
10 Feb. 2026
-
No one knows where Frank died and is buried, and the Oakwood graves of Helen, Ada, and Dewitt have no headstones.—
Richard Selcer,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
When activated, those cells begin clearing away existing amyloid plaques, a process that was associated with reduced plaque buildup and improved cognitive function, the study found.—
Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
3 Feb. 2026
-
And in mice with more advanced conditions, with unstable plaques that are more likely to rupture, treatment reduced the plaque size by 52%.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
26 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tombstones.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tombstones. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
