mummify

verb

mum·​mi·​fy ˈmə-mi-ˌfī How to pronounce mummify (audio)
mummified; mummifying

transitive verb

1
: to embalm and dry as or as if a mummy
2
a
: to make into or like a mummy
b
: to cause to dry up and shrivel

intransitive verb

: to dry up and shrivel like a mummy
mummification noun

Examples of mummify in a Sentence

learning how ancient Egyptians mummified their dead a body that mummified in the desert heat a body that was mummified by the desert heat
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Ancient Egyptians believed that the soul remained inside the body after death, so embalmers mummified bodies to preserve the spirit for the afterlife, according to Field Museum scientists. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 9 Nov. 2024 In one such piece, made of polished aluminum, the two figures are almost entirely mummified in the tentaclelike coils of hair coming from one of their heads. Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 28 June 2024 At the beginning of that play, her character has spent a decade as a sort of half widow; her husband, who had disappeared ten years earlier, has finally been found, mummified in a peat bog. Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2024 Also in 2020, researchers described the discovery of a 57,000-year-old wolf pup that had been mummified in permafrost in Canada’s Yukon territory. Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for mummify 

Word History

First Known Use

1628, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mummify was in 1628

Dictionary Entries Near mummify

Cite this Entry

“Mummify.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mummify. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

mummify

verb
mum·​mi·​fy ˈməm-i-ˌfī How to pronounce mummify (audio)
mummified; mummifying
1
: to embalm and dry as or like a mummy
2
: to dry up like the skin of a mummy : shrivel
mummification noun

Medical Definition

mummify

verb
mum·​mi·​fy ˈməm-i-ˌfī How to pronounce mummify (audio)
mummified; mummifying

transitive verb

1
: to embalm and dry as or as if a mummy
2
a
: to make into or like a mummy
b
: to cause to dry up and shrivel

intransitive verb

: to dry up and shrivel like a mummy
a mummified fetus

More from Merriam-Webster on mummify

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!