cremate
Americanverb (used with object)
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cremates,
present (3rd person singular)
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cremated,
past participle, past
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cremating
present participle
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to reduce (a dead body) to ashes by fire, especially as a funeral rite.
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to consume by fire; burn.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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crematesimple
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crematessimple
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have crematedperfect
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has crematedperfect
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am crematingprogressive
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are crematingprogressive
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is crematingprogressive
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have been crematingperfect progressive
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has been crematingperfect progressive
Past
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crematedsimple
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had crematedperfect
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was crematingprogressive
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were crematingprogressive
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had been crematingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cremate
First recorded in 1870–75; from Latin cremātus, past participle of cremāre “to burn to ashes”; see -ate 1
Explanation
When you cremate something, you burn it until only ashes are left. The word cremate is most often used to describe the ceremonial burning of dead bodies. If you burn a grilled cheese sandwich and there is nothing but black ashes left in the pan, you can say you cremated it. Usually, however, people use the verb cremate when they're talking about a practical or ceremonial burning of a body. Many people are cremated after dying, with their ashy remains either buried or scattered in a beautiful place. The Latin root word is cremare, "to burn or consume by fire."
Vocabulary lists containing cremate
The Devil's Arithmetic
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Bridge to Terabithia
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Mockingbird
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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.
See Examples For:
There were also the deceased, whose bodies he had been trusted to bury or cremate with dignity.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
Besides the failure to cremate bodies placed in his care, it became apparent there were "much wider aspects" of Bush's offending, said Tams.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Finally, the Daily Mirror reports on families calling for a public inquiry into the funeral director who failed to bury or cremate people and gave bereaved relatives the ashes of strangers.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
He said he was inspired by the work of Dr William Price, a self-proclaimed druid who was put on trial in Cardiff for trying to cremate his deceased five-month old son in 1884.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026
An undertaker telegraphed to a man that his mother-in-law had died and asked whether he should bury, embalm or cremate her.
From Toaster's Handbook Jokes, Stories, and Quotations by C. E. (Clara Elizabeth) Fanning
Not to worry, he said, promising to put his new cremates to work: “We’ll catch up next weekend.”
From Washington Post ● May 31, 2020
It’s July 29, 1981, when Patrick cremates his mother—the day, as it happens, that Prince Charles marries Lady Diana Spencer.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 22, 2018
Nowadays, if you die in Pierce County and you fall into two categories - both indigent and unclaimed - the county cremates your body and disposes of your remains.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 3, 2016
The administrator’s office cremates unidentified migrants instead of burying them — a switch that saves the county roughly $860 a person, said Rosie Blankenship, assistant public administrator for Imperial County.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2016
A woman always embalms the corpse of a dead love; a man wisely cremates it, and plants a new love in the ashes.
From A Guide to Men Being Encore Reflections of a Bachelor Girl by Helen Rowland
Zhu's remains will be cremated on Tuesday in Beijing, Xinhua said Sunday, with a farewell gathering attended by senior leaders of China's ruling Communist Party expected before, according to standard protocol.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
She and her partner, Callum Ellerby, were told their baby was cremated on 10 May 2021.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Authorities were tipped off to the crimes after one of the dog owners told authorities that they received a message from the trainer saying their dog had died in its sleep and was cremated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
They cremated their dead, spoke the Germanic ancestors of Old English and were pagans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
“When someone is cremated after they die, their ashes are put in an urn.”
From "The Marvels" by Brian Selznick
When the child died, it is alleged they initially thought of cremating the body in the back garden of their home before contacting a funeral director.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2025
The family has also said Mexican authorities and funeral home representatives have repeatedly suggested cremating Blair’s remains.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 19, 2023
Officials also recommended sealing corpses in impermeable bags and cremating them within 24 hours.
From New York Times ● Dec. 15, 2022
Many states permit only three ways of dealing with dead bodies: Burying them, cremating them, or donating them to science.
From Slate ● Apr. 25, 2019
This consists in killing and cremating all birds showing visible symptoms, moving the apparently healthy portion of the flock to new quarters and wiping the eggs with alcohol.
From Common Diseases of Farm Animals by R. A. Craig, D.V.M.
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.
