: 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
However, when the pyre was lit, the boy’s devotion to Lord Vishnu protected him and left him unscathed while Holika, despite her immunity, burned to death.
—
ABC News, 3 Mar. 2026
Singapore’s Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum houses a tooth relic said to have been recovered from the Buddha’s funeral pyre in a giant stupa fashioned from 705 pounds of gold.
—Deepa Bharath, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2026
Carcasses of trees are piled up like pyres in one; in another, they are laid flat like a mass grave.
—Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 23 Feb. 2026
Varanasi was quite an experience, seeing the funeral pyres.
—Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pyre
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ABC News, 3 Mar. 2026
Singapore’s Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum houses a tooth relic said to have been recovered from the Buddha’s funeral pyre in a giant stupa fashioned from 705 pounds of gold.
—Deepa Bharath, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2026
Carcasses of trees are piled up like pyres in one; in another, they are laid flat like a mass grave.
—Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 23 Feb. 2026
Varanasi was quite an experience, seeing the funeral pyres.
—Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pyre
Cite this Entry
“Pyre.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pyre. Accessed 14 Mar. 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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