cemetery

noun

cem·​e·​tery ˈse-mə-ˌter-ē 

-ˌte-rē

plural cemeteries

: a burial ground

Synonyms

• 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

However, during the shutdown, VA benefits regional offices are closed, transition program assistance has ceased and VA cemetery grounds are not being maintained. —Zac Anderson, USA Today, 19 Oct. 2025

In a cemetery shed, the doctors performed more than three thousand autopsies, which revealed that starvation softened the bones and atrophied vital organs. —Clayton Dalton, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2025

Hallmarks of the best Halloween travel destinations usually entail a moody fall landscape, local legends that involve a tetchy ghost, vampire, or other variety of ominous being, and themed activities like pumpkin patches and cemetery tours. —Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 18 Oct. 2025

In 2024, the university returned a marble male head from Roman times from a cemetery in Thessaloniki. —Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025

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"