funeral

American  

[fyoo-ner-uhl] / ˈfju nər əl /

noun

funerals plural

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

Derived Forms

• prefuneral
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• funerals
  plural

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

Explanation

A funeral is a ceremony to bury or cremate the dead. If you go to a funeral, wear black and try not to seem like you're having fun. Funeral comes from the Latin root fūnus, for "dead body," and so a funeral is the ritual that surrounds taking care of a dead body. Depending on the dead person's beliefs, there will often be a representative of a religion there to honor them in a traditional way. Sometimes we use funeral for dead things other than dead people. If you just gave a really bad party, you could call it a funeral for your social life.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

funeral funerals

Many of them work until the day they die, and the funeral is the opposite of what we do with people.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

He opened up about a turning point in his relationship with Trump when they huddled at the Vatican earlier this year after the funeral of Pope Francis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

“There was something so free about her … like she belonged to the wind and the sunshine,” Fessler wrote in a GoFundMe created to assist the family with funeral expenses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

After his funeral she applied to get her GCSEs before enrolling on a nursing course, and then her nursing university degree.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

That was about as long as you could wait on a funeral in this weather.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Daniel High School, sending flowers when anyone lost a parent and showing up at funerals, where he insisted on waiting in line to greet the family.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Drastic restrictions on cross-country travel took effect Thursday in cash-strapped Cuba, with spaces on ever scarcer trains and buses now reserved for the sick, people traveling for funerals and other emergencies.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

Some families may have traditional funerals, while others might opt for a “celebration of life,” which can be a joyous event with music and visuals.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 10, 2026

Other charitable funds help maintain the department’s fleet of helicopters, support the spouses and children of slain officers and promote the official police department band that performs at graduations, funerals and other functions.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026

This was going to be another happy funeral, and usually at happy funerals it was hard to find the person hurting the most.

From "The Boy in the Black Suit" by Jason Reynolds

Related Words

• burial
• cremation