How to Use catacomb in a Sentence

catacomb

noun
  • In recent years, the outlines of the catacomb structure have been emerging from the soil.
    Bernhard Warner, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2020
  • Much like the myths of Christians hiding in the catacombs and being thrown to the lions in the Colisseum, there’s not much truth to the story.
    Nicole Winfield | Ap, Washington Post, 3 June 2017
  • This tour will bring you to a selection of Rome's catacombs going back to the first century.
    Maresa Manara, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Mar. 2018
  • At that time of night, the subway was a catacomb and anyone walking around on the platform looked like a prisoner.
    Longreads, 21 June 2017
  • Time will tell if Mr. Macron, whose approval ratings have also sunk to the depths of the Paris catacombs, will seek to benefit from the city’s Olympic triumph.
    Colette Davidson, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Sep. 2024
  • One section of the quarry was burrowed beneath a large catacomb that was dug by the early Christians to bury their dead.
    Nick Squires, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Jan. 2022
  • Between the first and fifth centuries, catacombs were dug along the coastline just north of Klima, and the waves have clawed away at the cliffs, exposing the graves’ arched, shadowy openings.
    Peter Rock, New York Times, 14 Nov. 2019
  • The catacombs, long abused as a temporary home for vagrants and even as a handy storage space for the church’s janitors, had been cleaned up some, but still were in rough shape.
    Chris Kaltenbach, baltimoresun.com, 31 Oct. 2019
  • There are only a few areas of the catacombs accessible to the public.
    Ingrid Rojas Contreras, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2023
  • There’s one spot in the catacombs in particular that piques my interest: a pitch-black alcove in the corner.
    Jennifer Nalewicki, Smithsonian, 9 May 2018
  • In the station, shadows pool in the basins of hundreds of concrete coffers lining the domed catacomb, as if each one holds something secret.
    Kelsey Ables, Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2021
  • Time: the passage from the first part of the book, the twenty-nine portraits of living people, to the second, the eleven pictures of mummified corpses taken in 1963 in the Palermo catacombs.
    Benjamin Moser, The New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2024
  • But below the stalls and stands is a maze of catacombs, dark corners and maybe even paranormal activity.
    Sarah Bahr, Indianapolis Star, 11 July 2018
  • The internet is a virtual catacomb, where the skeletons of human decency line the damp, mildewed walls.
    Christine Flowers, Philly.com, 15 June 2017
  • The scene ends with Jon's candle blowing out and cold air (usually a sign that White Walkers are near) filtering into the catacomb.
    Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, 14 Jan. 2019
  • The place feels like a living, breathing being, with various catacombs and vaults and catwalks that disobey the laws of gravity.
    Reif Larsen, The Seattle Times, 1 Aug. 2018
  • Ludlow House, a members-only club in the Lower East Side, is a catacomb of various bars, lounges, parlors, and restaurants.
    Ian Frisch, Longreads, 9 June 2018
  • Thousands of bottles are stowed in the seemingly endless, labyrinthine catacomb-like wine cellar, which served as a bomb shelter during World War II.
    Liza Weisstuch, The Seattle Times, 17 May 2017
  • Some sections of the miles-long catacombs have been rarely explored, and experts believe more remain undiscovered.
    Meghan Miner Murray, National Geographic, 2 Aug. 2019
  • They were also spotted visiting the city's catacombs and dining near the Eiffel Tower.
    Jolene Latimer, Peoplemag, 6 Apr. 2023
  • Scheidel analyzed the work of intrepid researchers who combed the catacombs to collect about 4,000 such inscriptions.
    Andrew Van Dam, Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2024
  • In this 1961 painting by Remedios Varo, a radiant orange woman moves through a blue catacomb lined with stone-cold, female figures with their eyes closed.
    Washington Post, 16 July 2021
  • At some point a local official in Paris suggested the catacombs under the city be emptied and sent to sugar factories.
    Byandrew Curry, science.org, 2 Apr. 2024
  • That resistance involved armed conflict and personal risk of the bleakest sort, with guerrilla fighters hiding in the catacombs of Paris while Hitler’s forces did their worst above ground.
    Beverly Gage, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2017
  • Beyond a black door begin two interconnecting catacombs—webs of passageways lined with niches for the burial of the dead.
    John Hooper, WSJ, 11 Jan. 2017
  • Using lasers, restorers stripped away the deposits strata by strata — a technique never used before in the catacombs.
    Elisabetta Povoledo, New York Times, 30 May 2017
  • The little gray horse was not just desert transportation but a companion and a living time machine amid traces of caravans, cavalries, and catacombs.
    Susan Hack, Town & Country, 28 Apr. 2016
  • Trails of markets, a catacomb of never-ending alleyways, and a deep network of stunning street food vendors awaiting at every turn.
    Travel + Leisure, 14 July 2021
  • Our Lady of Sorrows, a hospice for infirm and dying nuns (conveniently built over ancient catacombs!), to take her vows.
    Jen Yamato, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024
  • Hidden underneath the road is a network of catacombs containing the remains of Christian converts.
    Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 July 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'catacomb.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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