What does entombing mean?
Entombing refers to the act of placing a body in a tomb, or, by extension, enclosing anything so thoroughly that it becomes sealed away as though in one. The word carries strong connotations of finality, permanence, and solemnity: what is entombed is not merely buried but deliberately shut off from the world. In everyday usage it appears most often in historical, religious, and archaeological contexts — pharaohs entombed in pyramids, saints beneath cathedral floors — but it is equally at home describing natural events, as when volcanic ash or glacial ice gradually entombs whatever lies beneath. The figurative use is especially vivid because it borrows the gravity of funerary ritual for non-burial situations. Related forms include the verb 'entomb,' the noun 'entombment,' and the adjective 'entombed.' Writers choose this word over plainer alternatives like 'burying' when they want to emphasise deliberate enclosure and lasting concealment rather than simple interment.
verb (present participle and gerund of 'entomb')The act of placing or burying a body in a tomb; more broadly, enclosing or embedding something so completely that it is sealed in, as if in a tomb.
- Placing or burying a body in a tomb.
- Enclosing or embedding something completely, as if sealed in a tomb.
"The archaeologists found the sarcophagus entombing the pharaoh's remains deep within the pyramid."
"The monks performed the solemn rite of entombing their founder beneath the abbey floor."
"Volcanic ash fell for days, slowly entombing the city of Pompeii."
The same Latin root that gives us 'entombing' — tumulare, to bury under an earthen mound — also gave us 'tumulus,' the archaeologist's word for ancient burial mounds.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of entombing
Entombing derives from the verb 'entomb,' formed in English from the noun 'tomb,' which entered Middle English via Old French 'tombe' from Late Latin 'tumba.' The Latin word ultimately comes from Greek 'tymbos,' meaning a burial mound or grave. The same Greek root produced Latin 'tumulus' (burial mound) and related terms such as 'tumular.' The figurative sense of sealing something away developed naturally from the literal burial sense.
Related word forms
How entombing is actually used
Formal register. The literal sense applies to burial rites; the figurative sense is common in geology, archaeology, and disaster writing (ash, ice, mud 'entombing' things).
Easily confused with entombing
'Entombing' is the ongoing act of placing something in a tomb, while 'entombment' is the noun naming that act or its result.
'Entombing' means sealing a body in a tomb, whereas 'embalming' means treating a body with preservatives to prevent decay.