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Synonyms

ashes

1 British  
/ ˈæʃɪz /

plural noun

  1. ruins or remains, as after destruction or burning

    the city was left in ashes

  2. the remains of a human body after cremation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Ashes 2 British  
/ ˈæʃɪz /

plural noun

  1. a cremated cricket stump in a pottery urn now preserved at Lord's. Victory or defeat in test matches between England and Australia is referred to as winning, losing, or retaining the Ashes

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Ashes

from the mock obituary of English cricket in The Times in 1882 after a great Australian victory at the Oval, in which it was said that the body would be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia

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.

One customer loved Damburger so much that his family asked after his death if they could spread some of his ashes in the restaurant’s flower beds.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

More than 100 families had been presented with the ashes of strangers.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

Thirty-five bodies and half a tonne of human ashes were discovered at Legacy's premises by officers in March 2024.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

Curreri's company was appointed by Hull City Council in April 2024 following the removal of the bodies and ashes, when the scene had been released by police.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

I chuckled to myself as I prized my new crockery out of the ashes with sticks.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

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.