hearse

American  

[hurs] / hɜrs /

noun

hearses plural

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.

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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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hearselike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hearses
  plural

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

See Examples For:

hearse hearses

A hearse driver lost his argument that the corpse in back was a passenger.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 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

The flaring of light made big shadows dance on the wet gray canvas of the hearse.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

As part of the outpouring of solidarity from Venezuelans, many private funeral homes have offered free hearses to transport the dead, and free cremations.

From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026

The hearses arrived, following Nurullah’s directions to find the remote village, and mourners took the dead to the cemetery.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 10, 2023

The procession is set to feature about 200 motorbikes, two limousines, four hearses and eight Rolls-Royces.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2023

On Thursday, two hearses carrying the bodies of Woodard and Brown crossed the international bridge to Brownsville, where the remains were handed over to U.S. authorities.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 9, 2023

Judge William Lewis saw house after house in his neighborhood abandoned, saw the streets empty, saw the hearses constantly passing his home, and fled.

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy