: a combustible heap for burning a dead body as a funeral rite
broadly
: a pile of material to be burned
a pyre of dead leaves
Examples of pyre in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Thecla is stripped naked and placed on a pyre, but no flames touch her.
—
Christy Cobb, The Conversation, 16 Jan. 2026
Flaked points of stone tools were also found on the pyre, suggesting the pointed stones were added during the cremation as funerary objects.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 6 Jan. 2026
At Mount Hora, archaeologists discovered the oldest human cremation in Africa and the oldest in situ adult pyre in the world.
—Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 4 Jan. 2026
In the dry California hills, an intentional community tries to build a pyre for one of its own, and, in the complex and mendacious aftermath, may end up sort of burning down the nation-state.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pyre
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Christy Cobb, The Conversation, 16 Jan. 2026
Flaked points of stone tools were also found on the pyre, suggesting the pointed stones were added during the cremation as funerary objects.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 6 Jan. 2026
At Mount Hora, archaeologists discovered the oldest human cremation in Africa and the oldest in situ adult pyre in the world.
—Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 4 Jan. 2026
In the dry California hills, an intentional community tries to build a pyre for one of its own, and, in the complex and mendacious aftermath, may end up sort of burning down the nation-state.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pyre
Cite this Entry
“Pyre.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pyre. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pyre
noun
: a heap of wood for burning a dead body
also
: a pile of material to be burned
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