columbarium

noun

Definition of columbariumnext
as in mausoleum

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of columbarium Later, the victims’ ashes were interred in a modest columbarium that the priest had built in a Catholic cemetery. — Sheila Coronel, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026 And the columbarium would have been open to all Irvine residents, with priority given to veterans. — Victoria Le, Oc Register, 16 Jan. 2026 When the base closed, the land passed to the city of Alameda, but one corner was retained by the VA to build a new 158,000-square-foot outpatient clinic and columbarium as a final resting place for Bay Area veterans. — John Ramos, CBS News, 16 Dec. 2025 And columbaria – the plural for columbarium – are on the rise in the Diocese of Nashville. — Laura L. Davis, Nashville Tennessean, 27 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for columbarium
Recent Examples of Synonyms for columbarium
  1. mausoleum
  2. crypt
  3. vault
  4. catacomb
  5. tomb
  6. cemetery
  7. charnel
  8. burial
Noun
  • In a letter read to commissioners, Beatrice Brickell urged commissioners to keep the cottage in Brickell, suggesting it could be relocated to the city’s bayfront Brickell Park, where the family mausoleum is.
    — Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 23 July 2026
  • In ancient times, the Turkish Riviera town of Bodrum was known as Halicarnassus, and its famed mausoleum was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 July 2026
Definition of mausoleum
Noun
  • Call it the canary yellow uniforms in the coal mine — except the Red Sox have shot up the elevator shaft, bursting from their subterranean crypt.
    — Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 20 July 2026
  • The hotel reopened in late 2025 as a 28-room property with a subterranean spa housing indoor and outdoor pools, two indoor saunas, a steam room and a hammam, all carved into what was once the monastery’s cellar and crypt.
    — Winston Ross, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of crypt
Noun
  • The organization, which is responsible for cleaning up the messes after superhero battles, has something that Jean wants locked inside a vault.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 31 July 2026
  • Rhule has faced increasing pressure to help generate revenue as player payrolls in the Big Ten vault above $40 million.
    — Mitch Sherman, New York Times, 30 July 2026
Definition of vault
Noun
  • Avedon, whose work and career had a big influence on Hujar early on, had produced a series of images of the Palermo catacombs in 1959.
    — Hilton Als, New Yorker, 17 July 2026
  • The monastery includes a massive network of underground catacombs, which contain the bodies of early Slavic saints, and is one of the most sacred locations in Eastern Orthodox Christianity and a symbol of the country’s cultural and spiritual heritage.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 15 June 2026
Definition of catacomb
Noun
  • The village is recognized for its symbiosis with the natural environment and development around the tomb of a Sufi master and saint.
    — Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 28 July 2026
  • The tomb was filled with precious objects, including the imposing golden collar, which according to Artnews, is made of 24-karat gold, weighs roughly one pound, and dates to the sixth century BCE.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 27 July 2026
Definition of tomb
Noun
  • The chapel and cemetery still stand on the grounds and are publicly available.
    — Zuri Primos July 26, Kansas City Star, 26 July 2026
  • Rather than leaving the cemetery untouched, Lauren gave each grave its own personality.
    — Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 24 July 2026
Definition of cemetery
Noun
  • One is a charnel house dominated by Daniel Day-Lewis’s Bill the Butcher, a man with unnerving knife skills.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026
  • This was also the case in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, which abandoned the novel’s complex (and, importantly, entertaining) moral quandaries in favor of a clock tower colossus doubling as a steam punk charnel house.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 Feb. 2026
Definition of charnel
Noun
  • After news broke of Diana’s death in August 1997, at the age of 36, Sarah and her sister Jane traveled to Paris with Prince Charles to bring Diana’s body home to England for burial, per AP News.
    — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 29 July 2026
  • Graham's burial Wednesday near his home in Pickens County was planned as a private ceremony.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 July 2026
Definition of burial

Browse Nearby Words

columbaria
columbarium
column
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Columbarium.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/columbarium. Accessed 1 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on columbarium

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about columbarium

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of spindrift

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Your vs. You're: How to Use Them Correctly
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Jul. 31

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All