urn

American  

[urn] / ɜrn /

noun

• urns
  plural

1. a large or decorative vase, especially one with an ornamental foot or pedestal.

2. a vase for holding the ashes of the cremated dead.

3. a large metal container with a spigot, used for making or serving tea or coffee in quantity.

4. Botany. the spore-bearing part of the capsule of a moss, between lid and seta.

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urn British  

/ ɜːn /

noun

1. a vaselike receptacle or vessel, esp a large bulbous one with a foot

2. a vase used as a receptacle for the ashes of the dead

3. a large vessel, usually of metal, with a tap, used for making and holding tea, coffee, etc

4. botany the spore-producing capsule of a moss

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• urnlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• urns
  plural

Etymology

Origin of urn

1325–75; Middle English urne < Latin urna earthen vessel for ashes, water, etc., akin to urceus pitcher, Greek hýrchē jar

Explanation

An urn is a large, hollow vase that's usually made of metal or clay. Some urns are used for making coffee or tea, others are made to put someone’s ashes in. Go figure. Urn is probably from the Latin word urna for "a jar or vessel," but some say it’s from another Latin word urere which means, "to burn.” While some urns are used for making hot drinks, the most common use of an urn is holding the ashes of a dead person. Most urns are decorated. “Ode to a Grecian Urn” by the Romantic poet John Keats (1820), is a poem about the figures on a classical Greek urn.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

urn urns

Nearby, children tried to toss coins into a large metal urn.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

Hoyte van Hoytema’s Imax-framed cinematography is assertive and present, rocking with the stormy waves and peering into the torch-lit darkness where the color palette is as starkly orange and black as an ancient Greek urn.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

The family lost everything including baby photos, Missi’s grandmother’s art and the stone urn that contained her late father’s ashes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026

By then, England will have not held the urn for almost a decade and not won a five-match series since 2018.

From BBC ● May 29, 2026

I rest the urn on my hip and take off the lid.

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

Near a white tent, about a hundred empty urns awaited ashes of the dead after cremation.

From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026

He has added gold trim to the crown molding, smothered the walls with gold-framed artworks and gold-painted embellishments, placed inch-thick gold coasters on the desk, and lined up gold urns on the mantel.

From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026

Other wall-mounted falcon sculptures in wood, bronze and glass suggest sconces, trophies and Greco-Roman urns.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025

During their work, Guard Archaeology found the urns with the cremated bones of at least eight individuals all placed there in one mass burial event some time between 1439 and 1287 BC.

From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2025

Red velvet ribbons were tied in prettily drooping bows around the balusters of the central staircase and great urns of scarlet poinsettia flanked the doorways.

From "The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• container
• jar
• pot
• vase