columbarium

noun col·um·bar·i·um \ ˌkä-ləm-ˈber-ē-əm \

Updated on: 13 Apr 2018

Definition of columbarium

plural columbaria play \ˌkä-ləm-ˈber-ē-ə\

1 : a structure of vaults lined with recesses for cinerary urns

2 : a recess in a columbarium

Recent Examples of columbarium from the Web

There will be a funeral Mass in Marietta GA followed by interment in the columbarium at the Catholic Church of St. Ann 4905 Roswell Rd.

— courant.com, "Jillian Leigh Bradley," 31 Mar. 2018
This place is called the columbarium, and at first, the very existence of this vast chamber full of urns can come as a surprise.

— caren chesler, Popular Mechanics, "Burning Out: What Really Happens Inside a Crematorium," 1 Mar. 2018
About five years ago, Filer Cemetery added a columbarium with marble niches for urns.

— heather kennison, The Seattle Times, "Small-town cemetery caretaker says he can’t do it alone," 25 Feb. 2018
The columbarium in All Saints Chapel is open to anyone in the community who would like to purchase a niche for their final resting place.

— The Aegis, "Emmanuel Church celebrates 150 years of service to Bel Air," 10 Feb. 2018
Virginia will be cremated and inurned in the columbarium at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC with her husband.

— orlando sentinel, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Deaths in Central Florida: 2/4," 4 Feb. 2018
The ashes of Blue and Blue II are in a mini-columbarium at Hinkle FIeldhouse -- with room for several dozen more -- that is guarded by a bronze statue of a bulldog.

— nat newell, Indianapolis Star, "Who is college sports' best bulldog -- Blue or Uga?," 8 Sep. 2017
Each columbarium also will have an ossuary, which will hold ashes placed in satin bags in a single underground chamber.

— mary divine, Twin Cities, "Stillwater cemetery adds more areas for remains," 9 Feb. 2017
Of those 49,000 burial grave sites, which includes columbariums for the ashes of the dead, about twice as many are for cremations than caskets.

— erik lacitis, The Seattle Times, "A sacred ritual for veterans at Tahoma National Cemetery," 28 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'columbarium.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.