as in monuments
a shaped stone laid over or erected near a grave and usually bearing an inscription to identify and preserve the memory of the deceased
the historic cemetery's many tombstones marking the graves of children are telling reminders of the harshness of pioneer life
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Recent Examples of tombstones
Workmen are erecting identical marble tombstones.
—
ABC News, 25 Apr. 2026
In 1975, the museum purchased his work Georgia Gate, a structure of fluidly bent pine staves inspired by photos of Georgia tombstones the artist saw in musicologist Marshall Stearns’s 1970 book The Story of Jazz.
—News Desk, Artforum, 8 Mar. 2026
Last year, the City Council approved an ordinance to offer rewards for information involving theft of city plaques, tombstones, statues, light standards, and copper wire, and theft of metals linked to the Sixth Street Bridge.
—City News Service, Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026
By day the place was filled with different sorts of tombstones, many of them inside ornamental enclosures.
—Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
People used to come to my hotel and leave tombstones and pictures of dead babies.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 11 Feb. 2026
Their names are listed in the African American Museum’s exhibit, but not at the cemetery as there are no tombstones left there – except for a few.
—Dallas Morning News, 31 Jan. 2026
Additional excavations could bring answers, Frame communicated, with the team hoping to find alters — tombstones frequently included the units soldiers belonged to.
—Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 6 Jan. 2026
Concrete beams standing in the dirt like tall tombstones.
—Daniel Estrin, NPR, 7 Nov. 2025
ABC News, 25 Apr. 2026
In 1975, the museum purchased his work Georgia Gate, a structure of fluidly bent pine staves inspired by photos of Georgia tombstones the artist saw in musicologist Marshall Stearns’s 1970 book The Story of Jazz.
—News Desk, Artforum, 8 Mar. 2026
Last year, the City Council approved an ordinance to offer rewards for information involving theft of city plaques, tombstones, statues, light standards, and copper wire, and theft of metals linked to the Sixth Street Bridge.
—City News Service, Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026
By day the place was filled with different sorts of tombstones, many of them inside ornamental enclosures.
—Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
People used to come to my hotel and leave tombstones and pictures of dead babies.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 11 Feb. 2026
Their names are listed in the African American Museum’s exhibit, but not at the cemetery as there are no tombstones left there – except for a few.
—Dallas Morning News, 31 Jan. 2026
Additional excavations could bring answers, Frame communicated, with the team hoping to find alters — tombstones frequently included the units soldiers belonged to.
—Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 6 Jan. 2026
Concrete beams standing in the dirt like tall tombstones.
—Daniel Estrin, NPR, 7 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tombstones
Noun
-
Crucially for Cole’s metaphor, Nero’s rule was notorious for tyranny, self-dealing, and extravagant public spending on the construction of monuments to and for Nero himself.—
Tyler Green,
The Atlantic,
21 May 2026
-
Another pretty village is Les Riceys, with three churches, all of which are classified as historical monuments.—
Forbes.com,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2026
Noun
-
The set includes chandelier earrings a ring and two bracelets with different cuts of stones.—
Lisa Gutierrez
May 18,
Kansas City Star,
18 May 2026
-
The traditional dish is laplap, made by grating cassava or taro, mixing it with coconut milk, wrapping it in banana leaves and slow-cooking it over hot stones in an earthen oven.—
Christopher Elliott,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
Noun
-
Swapping gravestones for fieldstones That trend — along with a desire to improve deathcare — led Connell to partner with Ed Bixby, owner of Steelmantown Church in New Jersey, which operates several green cemeteries nationwide.—
Karina Tsui,
CNN Money,
18 May 2026
-
Many of the gravestones in this makeshift cemetery have no full names, only the fighter's nom de guerre, because they were buried in the haste of war.—
Emily Feng,
NPR,
17 May 2026
Noun
-
Without headstones, Loving Earth will not look like a conventional cemetery.—
Karina Tsui,
CNN Money,
18 May 2026
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The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office is investigating vandalism at Old Memphis Cemetery in Palmetto, where deputies say 17 grave sites were damaged with broken and knocked-down headstones, graffiti and damaged concrete.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
13 May 2026
Noun
-
When activated, those cells begin clearing away existing amyloid plaques, a process that was associated with reduced plaque buildup and improved cognitive function, the study found.—
Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
3 Feb. 2026
-
And in mice with more advanced conditions, with unstable plaques that are more likely to rupture, treatment reduced the plaque size by 52%.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
26 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tombstones.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tombstones. Accessed 25 May. 2026.
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