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

Because limited space there makes burials a challenge, the traditional Cuban practice is to bury the deceased for six to eight months and then to exhume and inter the remaining bones, Rivero says. —Collin Blinder, The Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2025

The body was exhumed and a new verdict delivered: murder, by strangling. —Liesl Schillinger, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2025

Investigators had Jane Seneca Doe’s body exhumed and her DNA was extracted. —Veronica Fulton, NBC News, 3 Dec. 2024

Police exhumed the boy's body in 2019, but efforts to extract usable DNA took about two-and-a-half years, said Colleen Fitzpatrick, president of Identifinders International, at a 2022 press conference. —Ben Brachfeld, People.com, 28 Dec. 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