catacomb

[ kat-uh-kohm ]

noun

1. Usually catacombs. an underground cemetery, especially one consisting of tunnels and rooms with recesses dug out for coffins and tombs.
2. the Catacombs, the subterranean burial chambers of the early Christians in and near Rome, Italy.
3. an underground passageway, especially one full of twists and turns.

catacomb

/ -ˌkuːm; ˈkætəˌkəʊm /

noun

1. usually plural an underground burial place, esp the galleries at Rome, consisting of tunnels with vaults or niches leading off them for tombs
2. a series of interconnected underground tunnels or caves

Other Words From

• cat·a·cum·bal [kat-, uh, -, kuhm, -b, uh, l], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of catacomb¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English catacombe, Old English catacumbe, from Late Latin catacumbās (accusative plural); of disputed origin; perhaps from unattested Greek katakýmbās, equivalent to kata- + kýmbās, accusative plural of kýmbē “hollow, cup”; cata-

Word History and Origins

Origin of catacomb¹

Old English catacumbe, from Late Latin catacumbas (singular), name of the cemetery under the Basilica of St Sebastian, near Rome; origin unknown

Example Sentences

Stewart questioned: "Is there no one who can offer a more nuanced analysis of our newly formulated position in this conflict, preferably in some type of catacomb or echoey tunnel?"

From Salon

Having never been in an ancient catacomb before, neither Sydney nor Brooklyn knew what to expect.

From Literature

And so Raphael ditches the pastel conformity of mainstream Communist society for a secretive chop-socking Orthodox monastery where black-frocked monks fling pelmeni like throwing stars and make we’re-not-worthy genuflections in a catacomb of skulls.

From New York Times

One of the newly unearthed Saqqara masks was discovered outside a Greco-Roman catacomb discovered in 2019.

From New York Times

The other two masks were found inside the catacomb along with terra-cotta figurines of Isis-Aphrodite — the goddess of childbirth and rebirth — and her son Harpocrates, the Greek take on Horus, the Egyptian god of silence who could protect himself from sickness and death.

From New York Times