cemetery
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
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
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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.
Vocabulary lists containing cemetery
Memorial Day Words
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List 5
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 30–November 5, 2021
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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.
They gave the U.S. a perpetual concession for the cemetery where most of those fallen Americans are buried.
From Salon • Jun. 9, 2026
The ecologist said any plan to remove plastics from the cemetery, including whether children's graves should be included in any ban, was a decision for the council.
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026
Researchers found that the cemetery contains one of the largest and oldest known aggregations of ground nesting bees ever documented.
From Science Daily • May 28, 2026
The cemetery across the Potomac River from Washington, where hundreds of thousands of American veterans are buried, is considered one of the most hallowed sites in the country.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
As we drove through Gray Horse, we came upon a clearing in the woods, where there was an old cemetery.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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.
