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

One teacher tried to protect her students At the cemetery, Fatemeh Barani sat by the grave of her daughter, Nasim Neyestani, a second grade teacher at the school. — Amir Vahdat, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026

There are cases of Jewish corpses being abused on their way to the cemetery; and even one instance of a father watching as his son was stabbed to death in the street. — Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2026

The statue was relocated to the Virginia Military Institute after it was removed from the cemetery. — Paloma Chavez, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2026

Surnames like McKenzie, Adams and Scribner make frequent appearances on headstones at the roughly 600-grave cemetery, which is still allows burials of descendants of the town or people who live nearby. — Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 6 Sep. 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
• apiary
• arbitrary
• aviary
• axillary
• bacillary
• beriberi
• bestiary
• breviary
• budgetary

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"