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• ashes
  ashes

  plural noun

  ruins or remains, as after destruction or burning
• Ashes
  Ashes

  plural noun

  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

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

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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

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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

Glatt, who wears a bracelet containing some of Dena’s ashes “so she’ll always be with me,” unsurprisingly was emotional after the Santa Anita Derby last month.

From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2026

Then too, she has her mother’s ashes in storage, next to a vintage Pee-wee Herman doll in its original packaging.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

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

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

We took Mrs. Patterson’s ashes out to an island in Maine and Mr. P emptied the urn into the bay.

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen