cemetery

American  

[sem-i-ter-ee] / ˈsɛm ɪˌtɛr i /

noun

• cemeteries
  plural

1. an area set apart for or containing graves, tombs, or funeral urns, especially one that is not a churchyard; burial ground; graveyard.

---

cemetery British  

/ ˈsɛmɪtrɪ /

noun

1. a place where the dead are buried, esp one not attached to a church

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cemeteries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cemetery

1375–1425; late Middle English < Late Latin coemētērium < Greek koimētḗrion a sleeping place, equivalent to koimē- (variant stem of koimân to put to sleep) + -tērion suffix of locality

Compare meaning

How does cemetery compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• cemetery vs. graveyard

Explanation

A cemetery is the land used for burials. If you are 11 and you purchase a plot in a cemetery, you are planning too far ahead. Cemetery comes all the way from the Greek work koimētērion, which means "sleeping place." But the sleep you do in cemeteries is an eternal one. Cemeteries can often be found near churches, or in big parks outside of cities, usually gated off because the ground has been consecrated, or blessed. Sometimes we use cemetery metaphorically. The sea is a cemetery for shipwrecked sailors, just as a junk shop might be a cemetery for old shoes.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cemetery cemeteries

These include a fragment from Byron—only a few scribbled pages, set in a Turkish cemetery, about the mysterious Augustus Darvell—and a long story called “The Vampyre” by John William Polidori, Byron’s former doctor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

On Thursday, the prince spoke to villagers Rod and Helen Wyatt at their garden gate and was told how the water almost topped gravestones in a cemetery opposite during a flood.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

The group then reconvened at the Glendale cemetery, where a priest said prayers over the casket, which was gently lowered into the ground as teary-eyed friends and family members watched.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

The vast Theban necropolis, comprising an area of around 10km², was Egypt’s main royal and elite cemetery for half a millennium, from ca.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

The cemetery looked as if the living had taken up residence.

From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm

Doan Van Cong, 68, and his family spent years touring cemeteries and talking to witnesses to discover what happened to his uncle, who died in 1950, when he was in his early 20s.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

Turrell spoke movingly of the close friends he lost during the campaign, some of whom he buried in the field, and who are now buried in Commonwealth war cemeteries on the continent.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

Raman’s website shows that she met on-site at the cemeteries once in 2023.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Odd Arne Westad begins “The Coming Storm: Power, Conflict, and Warnings From History” with a poignant and haunting visit to World War I memorials and cemeteries in France.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Then he resorts to taking long walks, through fields and woods and cemeteries.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

Related Words

• garden
• graveyard
• mortuary
• tomb