mortuary

American  

[mawr-choo-er-ee] / ˈmɔr tʃuˌɛr i /

noun

plural

mortuaries

1. funeral home.

2. a customary gift formerly claimed by and due to the incumbent of a parish in England from the estate of a deceased parishioner.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the burial of the dead.

2. pertaining to or connected with death.

mortuary British  

/ ˈmɔːtʃʊərɪ /

noun

1. Also called: morgue.  a building where dead bodies are kept before cremation or burial

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adjective

1. of or relating to death or burial

Other Word Forms

• premortuary
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of mortuary

1350–1400; Middle English mortuarie < Medieval Latin mortuārium, noun use of neuter of Latin mortuārius of the dead, equivalent to mortu ( us ) dead + -ārius -ary

Explanation

A mortuary is a room or area, often in a hospital, where dead bodies are kept. You can also use the word mortuary to talk about a funeral home. When a person dies in a hospital, his body is usually moved to a mortuary before an autopsy takes place. A mortuary is also where a body is kept until it's buried or cremated. Another word for a mortuary is a morgue, which is more commonly used in the United States. In the 1500's, mortuary was used as an adjective meaning "pertaining to death," from the Latin root word mortuus, or "dead."

Example Sentences

Among those helping prepare victims for burial was Kazem Pourzahedian, a fabric merchant in Minab who for 10 years has volunteered at a local mortuary to perform the ritual washing of the dead.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

Hughes, a broadcaster, author and leader of the Anglesey Druid Order, spent three decades working for coroners across the UK and abroad as a specialised mortuary technician.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

The cases are then moved to waiting vehicles that transport them to the mortuary facility at Dover, where the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System conducts identification and prepares the remains for burial.

From Barron's • Mar. 6, 2026

At the National Hospital in Galle, Iranian sailors’ bodies were arriving in trucks and being stored in a makeshift mortuary.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 4, 2026

I set her mortuary tablets on my vanity.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

Related Words

• morgue