exhume

verb

ex·​hume ig-ˈzüm 

igz-ˈyüm,

iks-ˈ(h)yüm 

exhumed; exhuming

transitive verb

1

: disinter

exhume a body

2

: to bring back from neglect or obscurity

exhumed a great deal of information from the archives

exhumation

ˌeks-(h)yü-ˈmā-shən 

ˌeg-zü-

ˌegz-yü- 

noun

exhumer

ig-ˈzü-mər 

igz-ˈyü-

iks-ˈ(h)yü-

noun

Synonyms

• disinter
• unearth

Examples of exhume in a Sentence

the remains of John Paul Jones were exhumed in Paris and transported with great ceremony to the U.S. Naval Academy

Recent Examples on the Web

Detectives worked with the county Medical Examiner’s Office to exhume the decomposing body and determine he had been buried there two months earlier, Campbell said. —Caleb Lunetta, The Mercury News, 20 Sep. 2024

LaSalle County Coroner's Office Her body was exhumed in 2013 to obtain DNA and employ investigative methods not in use in the early 1990s. —CBS News, 17 Sep. 2024

John Kirk Townsend exhumed Indigenous remains to try to prove some kind of Indian inferiority. —Samantha Dunn, Orange County Register, 10 Sep. 2024

Remains found on adjoining land are exhumed for later burial on the Harambee property. —Michael Hill, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Medieval Latin exhumare, from Latin ex out of + humus earth — more at ex-, humble

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

exhume

verb

ex·​hume igz-ˈ(y)üm 

iks-ˈ(h)yüm

exhumed; exhuming

: to remove from a place of burial

exhumation

ˌeks-(h)yü-ˈmā-shən 

ˌegz-(y)ü-

noun

Medical Definition

exhume

transitive verb

ex·​hume igz-ˈ(y)üm  iks-ˈ(h)yüm 

exhumed; exhuming

: disinter

the body was exhumed for an autopsy

exhumation

ˌeks-(h)yü-ˈmā-shən  ˌegz-(y)ü- 

noun