hearse

American  

[hurs] / hɜrs /

noun

1. a vehicle for conveying a dead person to the place of burial.

2. a triangular frame for holding candles, used at the service of Tenebrae in Holy Week.

3. a canopy erected over a tomb.

---

hearse British  

/ hɜːs /

noun

1. a vehicle, such as a specially designed car or carriage, used to carry a coffin to a place of worship and ultimately to a cemetery or crematorium

---

Other Word Forms

• hearselike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of hearse

1250–1300; Middle English herse < Middle French herce a harrow < Latin hirpicem, accusative of hirpex

Explanation

A hearse is a long black car with a very specific purpose: carrying a coffin to a church or cemetery. Some vehicles have very specific functions, and the hearse is one of them. It's only use is for carrying coffins, usually to or from a church or cemetery. As with most things surrounding funerals, a hearse is black. It's also long, so it can fit the coffin. Before cars were invented, hearses were pulled by horses. Of all the vehicles in the world, the hearse is probably the most depressing.

Example Sentences

He left early to move his hearse: apparently musical Five Timers only get their parking validated for 15 minutes.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026

In my neighborhood, the only time you ever saw a limousine was behind a hearse at a funeral.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026

After it’s confirmed in the hospital that she’s gone, we see Harold racing along a twisty turny road in his car, a Jaguar with a hearse top welded onto it.

From Salon • Feb. 17, 2026

A police photographer was called in, and a hearse was later seen leaving the scene.

From Barron's • Jan. 23, 2026

But here you barely have time to get used to the idea before you have to start running after the hearse.

From "The Stranger" by Albert Camus