funeral

American  

[fyoo-ner-uhl] / ˈfyu nər əl /

noun

1. the ceremonies for a dead person prior to burial or cremation; obsequies.

2. a funeral procession.

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adjective

1. of or relating to a funeral.

   funeral services; funeral expenses.

idioms

1. be someone's funeral, to have unpleasant consequences for someone.

   If you don't finish the work on time, it will be your funeral!

funeral British  

/ ˈfjuːnərəl /

noun

1. 1. a ceremony at which a dead person is buried or cremated

   2. ( as modifier )

      a funeral service

2. a procession of people escorting a corpse to burial

3. informal worry; concern; affair

   that's your funeral

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funeral More Idioms  

1. see it's your funeral.

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Other Word Forms

• prefuneral adjective

Etymology

Origin of funeral

1350–1400; Middle English (adj.) < Medieval Latin fūnerālis, equivalent to Latin fūner-, stem of fūnus funeral rites + -ālis -al ¹; (noun), from early 16th cent., probably < Middle French funerailles < Medieval Latin fūnerālia, neuter plural of fūnerālis

Example Sentences

After a memorial service in France and a Cuban state funeral, his ashes were interred in Havana.

From The Wall Street Journal

Her grief appears to swell when she attends the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter in Washington DC on 9 January 2025, the anniversary of her mother's death.

From BBC

After attending Jimmy Carter’s funeral, Melania goes to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York to light a candle and say a prayer for her mother.

From The Wall Street Journal

It begins: “And after all the weather was ideal,” plunging the reader headfirst into the collision between preparations for a party and funeral preparations for a young man killed in an accident.

From The Wall Street Journal

The day after the funeral march, Naravirala visited Christopher in the sphinxes’ cave.

From Literature

Related Words

• burial
• cremation