verb
exhume
ehks-YOOM
verb
1
To dig up a body that has been buried.
"Investigators exhumed the remains for a fresh autopsy."
2
To bring something back to light after it has been hidden or forgotten.
"The documentary exhumed old scandals nobody had thought about in decades."
How to Use Exhume
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo dig a body back up, or figuratively to revive something long buried or forgotten.
Common pairings
exhume a body
exhume the remains
Word Forms
exhumed past tense, exhumes singular
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Investigators _____ the remains for a fresh autopsy.
Etymology
From Medieval Latin exhumare, from ex- ("out of") plus humus ("ground, earth") — literally "to bring out of the ground."