columbarium
Americannoun
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a sepulchral vault or other structure with recesses in the walls to receive the ashes of the dead.
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any one of these recesses.
noun
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another name for a dovecote
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a vault having niches for funeral urns
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a hole in a wall into which a beam is inserted
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of columbarium
1840–50; < Latin: literally, a nesting box for pigeons, equivalent to columb ( a ) pigeon, dove + -ārium -ary
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Explaining the columbarium, Chung says the "entire wall appears to be filled with grid-patterned storage compartments for remains".
From BBC • May 7, 2026
At a columbarium, there is little to sweep and not enough space for elaborate altar spreads.
From New York Times • Mar. 28, 2023
Cremated remains may be scattered, kept at home, buried in a cemetery or interred in a columbarium.
From Washington Post • Sep. 29, 2022
Didion had a particular affection for the cathedral; the Very Rev. Patrick Malloy told the audience that at a ceremony in April, the author’s ashes were placed in its columbarium.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 22, 2022
I well remember dreaming that I was a disused columbarium which had been converted into a brewery and was used as a greenhouse.
From Berry And Co. by Yates, Dornford
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
