crematory

noun

cre·​ma·​to·​ry ˈkrē-mə-ˌtȯr-ē 

ˈkre-

plural crematories

: a furnace for cremating

also : a place where the bodies of the dead are cremated : crematorium

… to help families with the most complicated logistics: filing the death certificate, getting the body released from a hospital, transporting it to the crematory or cemetery.

—April Dembosky

crematory adjective

Examples of crematory in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Recognizing that people suffer a loss when a pet dies, Patch said in 2016, the company purchased the house immediately north of the Sheridan Road location and named it Life After Fetch — a crematory for pets. —Steve Sadin, Chicago Tribune, 17 June 2025

In normal times, having a couple dozen waiting caskets in the crematory is considered a bottleneck; at the height of the pandemic, there were seventy-five. —Paige Williams, New Yorker, 2 June 2025

Fred excitedly tells her about all the breakthroughs in crematory science. —Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 8 May 2025

The former embalmer says he was not employed as a funeral director with Capital Mortuary Services, and instead was employed as a crematory operator, driver and embalmer. —Christina Shaw, FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1876, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for crematory

• allegory
• amatory
• auditory
• category
• clerestory
• desultory
• dilatory
• dormitory
• excretory
• extempore
• feudatory
• gustatory

Kids Definition

crematory

1 of 2 noun

cre·​ma·​to·​ry

ˈkrē-mə-ˌtōr-ē,

ˈkrem-ə-,

-ˌtȯr-

plural crematories

: a furnace for cremating or a building containing such a furnace

crematory

2 of 2 adjective

: of, relating to, or used in cremation

Medical Definition

crematory

noun

cre·​ma·​to·​ry ˈkrē-mə-ˌtōr-ē, ˈkrem-ə-, -ˌtȯr- 

plural crematories

: a furnace for cremating

also : an establishment containing such a furnace

crematory adjective