tomb definition

1. A pit in which the dead body of a human being is deposited; a grave; a sepulcher. "As one dead in the bottom of a tomb." (Shak)

2. A house or vault, formed wholly or partly in the earth, with walls and a roof, for the reception of the dead. "In tomb of marble stones." (Chaucer)

3. A monument erected to inclose the body and preserve the name and memory of the dead. "Hang her an epitaph upon her tomb.

<zoology>" (Shak) Tomb bat, any one of species of Old World bats of the genus Taphozous which inhabit tombs, especially the Egyptian species (T. Perforatus).

Origin: OE. Tombe, toumbe, F. Tombe, LL. Tumba, fr. Gr. A tomb, grave; perhaps akin to L. Tumulus a mound. Cf. Tumulus.

(01 Mar 1998)