crypt

noun

ˈkript 

1

a

: a chamber (such as a vault) wholly or partly underground

especially : a vault under the main floor of a church

b

: a chamber in a mausoleum

2

a

: an anatomical pit or depression

b

: a simple tubular gland

Did you know?

Hidden under the main floor of a great church is often a large room, often with a tomb as its centerpiece. Many major European churches were built over the remains of a saint—the Vatican's great St. Peter's Basilica is an example—and instead of having the coffin buried, it was often given its spacious room below ground level. In a large aboveground tomb, or mausoleum, there may be several small chambers for individual coffins, also called crypts; when the comic book Tales from the Crypt made its first appearance in 1950, it was this meaning that the authors were referring to.

Synonyms

• catacomb(s)
• vault

Examples of crypt in a Sentence

the old church's crypt is the final resting place for the president and his beloved wife

Recent Examples on the Web

Shepard’s remains were interred in the Cathedral’s crypt following a memorial service on October 26, 2018, over which Budde and openly gay Rev. V. Gene Robinson presided. —Samantha Riedel, Them, 24 Jan. 2025

But the library has some ghost stories of its own: In its crypt, learn about the haunting history of the prison, complete with graffiti and etchings from former inmates. —Vjosa Isai, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025

In a study of more than 2,000 crypts from 42 people, the researchers found hundreds of genetic variations in crypts from people in their 50s. —Amber Dance, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Jan. 2025

To enjoy Rome away from the Jubilee crowds, Shaw recommends visiting The Catacombs of Rome, which are underground burial grounds that contain crypts of notable popes and martyrs. —Marylou Costa, Contributor, CNBC, 17 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin crypta, crupta "covered passage, underground room," borrowed from Greek kryptḗ "underground room," noun derivative from feminine of kryptós "hidden, secret," verbal adjective of krýptein "to hide, conceal," of uncertain origin

Note: The verb krýptein is phonetically and semantically close to kalýptein "to cover, conceal," and the two may have influenced each other. Other forms with which krýptein has been compared, such as Old Church Slavic kryjǫ, kryti "to cover, hide, shroud," Lithuanian kráuju, kráuti "to pile up," are too distant phonetically to allow realistic reconstruction of an Indo-European verbal base. The alternation in consonants between kryp- (in krýptein, kryptós), kryb- (in krýbdēn "secretly"), and kryph- (in kryphêi "in secret," -kryphos "hidden") is apparently the result of both assimilation and analogy.

First Known Use

1583, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

crypt

noun

ˈkript 

: an underground chamber

also : a chamber for burial

Medical Definition

crypt

noun

ˈkript 

1

: an anatomical pit, depression, or invagination

a developing tooth in its bony crypt

see tonsillar crypt

2

: a simple tubular gland (as a crypt of Lieberkühn)