mortuary

American  

[mawr-choo-er-ee] / ˈmɔr tʃuˌɛr i /

noun

• mortuaries
  plural

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.

---

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

---

adjective

1. of or relating to death or burial

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• premortuary
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• mortuaries
  plural

---

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

See Examples For:

mortuary mortuaries

Lyubov was still searching for her mother's body, until she visited the mortuary last October during a trip to the regional capital Kursk.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

Nearby, close to the hospital's mortuary, photos of bodies recovered from the mud are on display.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

Concerns about the treatment of the dead in both mortuary and funeral home settings did not begin with the Robert Bush case.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

Nottinghamshire Police arrested two men last month on suspicion of misconduct in a public office over the trust's mortuary practices.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

He picked up Lila Goodchild, cradling her in her opaque bag like a sleeping child, and placed her carefully on the table in the chilly mortuary, as if he were afraid to wake her.

From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman

With mortuaries overflowing, Nepal has buried hundreds of bodies in mass graves after collecting DNA samples for future identification, according to police.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

With mortuaries overflowing in Nepal, authorities have had to bury hundreds of unidentified bodies after DNA sampling.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

With mortuaries overflowing in Nepal, authorities have begun burying hundreds of unidentified bodies after DNA sampling.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

The pathologist added that some of the bodies appeared to have originated from hospitals and mortuaries but that would be further determined after autopsies.

From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026

It began by acts abolishing ecclesiastical exactions, such as excessive mortuaries and fees for probate, and by prohibiting pluralities except in stated cases, application to Rome for licence to evade the act being made penal.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 4 "England" to "English Finance" by Various

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• morgue

---