cemetery

noun

cem·​e·​tery ˈse-mə-ˌter-ē 

-ˌte-rē

plural cemeteries

: a burial ground

Synonyms of cemetery

• graveyard

Examples of cemetery in a Sentence

many of the soldiers who died in the battle are buried in a cemetery nearby

Recent Examples on the Web

To give voice to Congolese citizens, Anderson spoke with figures ranging from rebel leaders to medical personnel, from a regional king to an elderly woman tending subsistence crops in a cemetery. —The New Yorker, New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2026

In Velasco, a town in the eastern Cuban province of Holguín, a man was buried in a cardboard box, his body carted on a wheelbarrow to the cemetery because of a lack of both of wooden coffins and fuel. —Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 17 Feb. 2026

Coyotes make homes in tiny green spaces across cities like small patches of forest, golf courses or cemeteries. —Sophie Hartley, IndyStar, 17 Feb. 2026

At the end of 1896, the marquise had Morès’s remains moved from the Montmartre cemetery in Paris to the Grand Jas cemetery in Cannes. —Literary Hub, 17 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English cimitery, from Anglo-French cimiterie, from Late Latin coemeterium, from Greek koimētērion sleeping chamber, burial place, from koiman to put to sleep; akin to Greek keisthai to lie, Sanskrit śete he lies

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cemetery

• accessary
• adversary
• ancillary
• arbitrary
• aviary
• axillary
• beriberi
• breviary
• budgetary
• capillary
• catenary
• cautionary

Kids Definition

cemetery

noun

cem·​e·​tery ˈsem-ə-ˌter-ē 

plural cemeteries

: a place where dead people are buried : graveyard

Etymology

Middle English cimitery "cemetery," from early French cimiterie (same meaning), from Latin coemeterium "cemetery," from Greek koimētērion "sleeping chamber, burial place," from koiman "to put to sleep"