columbarium
Americannoun
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a sepulchral vault or other structure with recesses in the walls to receive the ashes of the dead.
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any one of these recesses.
noun
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another name for a dovecote
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a vault having niches for funeral urns
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a hole in a wall into which a beam is inserted
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of columbarium
1840–50; < Latin: literally, a nesting box for pigeons, equivalent to columb ( a ) pigeon, dove + -ārium -ary
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.
There is also what appears to be a grey building that sits in the middle of the graveyard - likely to be a columbarium which houses funeral urns, says Chung.
From BBC • May 7, 2026
Mei and Shing casually dismiss Angie’s insistence that Pat wanted to have her ashes scattered at sea, instead heeding the advice of their fortuneteller, arranging for a traditional ritual and internment in a columbarium.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 27, 2024
At a columbarium, there is little to sweep and not enough space for elaborate altar spreads.
From New York Times • Mar. 28, 2023
Cremated remains may be scattered, kept at home, buried in a cemetery or interred in a columbarium.
From Washington Post • Sep. 29, 2022
Belonging to the farm is a curious columbarium, constructed of mud, in which the nesting niches are said to number 900.
From Somerset by Wade, G. W.
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.
