Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A cemetery, especially a large and elaborate one belonging to an ancient city.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A cemetery; specifically, one of the cemeteries of ancient peoples.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A city of the dead; a name given by the ancients to their cemeteries, and sometimes applied to modern burial places; a graveyard.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A large cemetery, especially one of elaborate construction in an ancient city.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a tract of land used for burials

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Greek nekropolis : nekro-, necro- + polis, city; see pelə- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek νεκρόπολις (nekropolis, "city of the dead"), from νεκρός (nekros, "dead") + πόλις (polis, "city").

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Examples

Comments

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  • Hey everybody! Who wants to live in a cemetery?

    January 25, 2008

  • Well, they're usually quiet. Not often crowded. Not much to do, but if you're looking for a nice restful place....

    Wait--you have to be dead?

    January 25, 2008

  • I found your name, I found your bones and all

    Enlisted in a cramped necropolis

    from "Electra on Azalea Path," Sylvia Plath

    April 8, 2008