Word.ws English Dictionary

catacomb

UK/ˈkætəkuːm//ˈkætəkoʊm/

catacomb noun: an underground system of tunnels and chambers with recesses for graves, used (in former times) as a cemetery; a tunnel system used for burying the dead, as in Paris or Ancient Rome.

catacomb: an underground system of tunnels and chambers with recesses for graves, used (in former times) as a...
Image: ignis, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

catacomb (plural catacombs)

  1. (often, plural) An underground system of tunnels and chambers with recesses for graves, used (in former times) as a cemetery; a tunnel system used for burying the dead, as in Paris or Ancient Rome.
    • Meronyms: crypt, ossuary

catacomb meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam

catacomb in Tamil

நிலத்தடிக் கல்லறைச் சுரங்கம், பாதாளக் கல்லறை

catacomb in Urdu

زمین دوز مردہ خانہ

catacomb in Bengali

ভূগর্ভস্থ সমাধিক্ষেত্র

catacomb in Malayalam

കല്ലറ, ശ്മശാനഗുഹ, ഭൂഗർഭകല്ലറ
More languagesFewer languages
catacomb in Tagalog
katakumbas
catacomb in Indonesian
katakombe, katakomba

Forms of catacomb

pluralcatacombs

Origin of catacomb

From Middle English catacombe, from Old English catacumbe, catacumbas pl, from Late Latin catacumbae pl, name of the underground cemetery of St. Sebastian in Rome, of unclear origin. Perhaps a dissimilation (influenced by *cumbō (“to lie, recline”)) of Late Latin cata tumbās (literally “among the tombs”) (from Ancient Greek κατά (katá, “under”) and τύμβος (túmbos, “tomb”)). Some sources suggest Ancient Greek κύμβη (kúmbē, “drinking vessel”) as an alternative etymon, but the semantic link is unclear.

Words formed from catacomb

Questions about catacomb

What does catacomb mean?
Catacomb means an underground system of tunnels and chambers with recesses for graves, used (in former times) as a cemetery; a tunnel system used for burying the dead, as in Paris or Ancient Rome.
What is catacomb in Tamil?
Catacomb in Tamil is நிலத்தடிக் கல்லறைச் சுரங்கம், பாதாளக் கல்லறை. See Catacomb meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is catacomb?
Catacomb is a noun.
How do you pronounce catacomb?
Catacomb is pronounced /ˈkætəkuːm/ (UK).
What is the plural of catacomb?
The plural of catacomb is catacombs.

Words near catacomb in the dictionary

  1. cataclysmical
  2. cataclysmically
  3. cataclysmist
  4. cataclysmists
  5. cataclysms
  6. catacomb
  7. catacombic
  8. catacombs
  9. catacorner
  10. catacorolla
  11. catacosmesis

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: catacomb (page history and authors); catacomb (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); catacomb (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); catacomb (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); catacomb (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-catacomb.wav.

Cite this entry: “catacomb.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/catacomb. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.