burial

noun

buri·​al ˈber-ē-əl How to pronounce burial (audio)
ˈbe-rē-
also ˈbər-ē-
Synonyms of burialnext
often attributive
1
: grave, tomb
2
: the act or process of burying

Synonyms of burial

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

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
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.
The singer’s niece, Lainey Mae Parton, shared an emotional tribute after her grandmother’s burial, remembering the country legend as a source of unconditional love and support. — Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2026 Mass burials of unidentified bodies in Kathmandu In Kathmandu, police worked in heavy rain on Tuesday to bury dozens of bodies in multiple trenches next to a forested area. — Shristi Kafle, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026 Days later, per Parton’s wishes, she was laid to rest in a private burial in Nashville at the Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum. — Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Sep. 2026 That mission continued with their documentary about the burial site, Do All Graves Matter? — Oliver Wu, Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for burial

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

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

Phrases Containing burial

Rhymes for burial

See All Rhymes for burial

Browse Nearby Words

buri
burial
burial case
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Burial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burial. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

burial

noun
buri·​al ˈber-ē-əl How to pronounce burial (audio)
: the act of burying

More from Merriam-Webster on burial

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about burial

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of apiary

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All