cremate

verb

cre·​mate ˈkrē-ˌmāt  kri-ˈmāt 

cremated; cremating

transitive verb

: to subject to cremation

especially : to reduce (a dead body) to mostly tiny bits of bones resembling ash through exposure to flame and intense heat followed by pulverization of bone fragments

cremate a dead body

Examples of cremate in a Sentence

He wants to be cremated when he dies.

Recent Examples on the Web

Crump will be cremated, and her ashes interred between her parents in Prospect Hill Cemetery in Front Royal, Virginia. —Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 3 Jan. 2026

Crump will be cremated and her ashes interred between her parents in Prospect Hill Cemetery in Front Royal, Virginia. —CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026

While there is no evidence that anyone else was cremated in the subsequent fires, the fact that people repeatedly returned to the spot for this purpose suggests its significance lived on in community memory. —Elizabeth Sawchuk, The Conversation, 1 Jan. 2026

Their bodies were cremated at Mount Sinai Mortuary after the autopsies were completed. —Stylecaster Editors, StyleCaster, 30 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin crematus, past participle of cremare to burn up, cremate

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

cremate

verb

cre·​mate ˈkrē-ˌmāt  kri-ˈmāt 

cremated; cremating

: to burn (as a dead body) to ashes

cremation

kri-ˈmā-shən 

noun

Medical Definition

cremate

transitive verb

cre·​mate ˈkrē-ˌmāt  kri-ˈ 

cremated; cremating

: to subject to cremation

especially : to reduce (a dead body) to mostly tiny bits of bones resembling ash through exposure to flame and intense heat followed by pulverization of bone fragments