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

Finally, the burial gong arrives from Japan. —Corky Carroll, Oc Register, 9 May 2026

Investigators said nearly 6,500 pets were promised a proper burial by Vereb, but instead their bodies were dumped in landfills or left in leaking garbage bags. —Meghan Schiller, CBS News, 8 May 2026

Makan’s casket, however, is empty — a symbolic burial for a child whose body was never recovered from the wreckage. —Zohreh Saberi, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026

By Tuesday afternoon, the campaign had raised more than $13,000 for funeral and burial expenses. —Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 5 May 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