morgue

American  

[mawrg] / mɔrg /

noun

• morgues
  plural

1. a place in which bodies are kept, especially the bodies of victims of violence or accidents, pending identification or burial.

2. a reference file of old clippings, mats, books, etc., in a newspaper office.

3. the room containing such a reference file.

4. any place, as a room or file, where records, information, or objects are kept for unexpected but possible future use.

5. such records, information, or objects.

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morgue ¹ British  

/ mɔːɡ /

noun

1. another word for mortuary

2. informal a room or file containing clippings, files, etc, used for reference in a newspaper

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morgue ² British  

/ mɔrɡ /

noun

1. superiority; haughtiness

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• morgues
  plural

Etymology

Origin of morgue

1815–25; < French; name of building in Paris housing unidentified dead bodies

Explanation

Most hospitals have an area called a morgue, where dead bodies are stored until they are buried or cremated. After a person dies, that person's body is often placed in a morgue until it can be transported to a funeral home, church, or temple for a memorial service or funeral. Occasionally, a body needs to be identified by relatives, and that often happens in a morgue as well. Another word for morgue is mortuary. The word comes from the French La Morgue, which was one specific building in 1800s Paris. It replaced the much more blunt term "dead house."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

morgue morgues

Only a handful of the more than 1,000 bodies recovered by authorities so far have been identified, stretching Nepal's already limited morgue capacity.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

Walking out from one such building next to a makeshift morgue, Shobha Adhikary told a local coordinator she believed one image showed her childhood best friend.

From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026

Vaccines, masking, improved indoor air quality and acquired immunity have all kept the virus at bay so that morgue trucks no longer fill the streets.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

At a port storage facility transformed into a makeshift morgue in La Guaira, the same scene repeats itself again and again.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

This gated community has become a high-end morgue.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

"The government may be inexperienced, but it has done its best," said Prakash Aryal, who has been searching morgues for his sister and her family, speaking to AFP at a Kathmandu hospital.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

"We've searched for him in hospitals, in morgues – everywhere," his stepfather, Jose Alejandro Abache, told BBC Mundo.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

He continues to tour hospitals and morgues, following possible leads sent to him from other family members, who continue to dig through rubble.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

Individuals were also identified in footage from morgues, including the Kahrizak Forensic Medical Centre, to where many bodies from Tehran and surrounding areas were transferred.

From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2026

There are six improvised morgues now in Johnstown.

From The Johnstown Horror!!! or, Valley of Death, being A Complete and Thrilling Account of the Awful Floods and Their Appalling Ruin by James Herbert Walker

Related Words

• funeral home