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urn

noun

Definition of urnnext
as in coffin

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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Recent Examples of urn The exotic bug buffet has been replaced by a few bog-standard coffee urns, and the crowd of tuxedos has started to thin. — Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 2 June 2026 Kristen Setera, a spokesperson for the FBI's Boston office, told Fox News Digital the urn was discovered missing during an inventory in November 2022. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 8 May 2026 The exhibition’s first wall presents a large photograph of Nicky holding their mother’s urn to set the scene. — Sarah Moroz, Literary Hub, 7 May 2026 When Patrick’s father died, two years ago, Patrick and his siblings divided his ashes among themselves, and a portion rested in a columbarium; the urn was small. — Anna Wiener, New Yorker, 4 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for urn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for urn
  1. coffin
  2. casket
  3. sarcophagus
  4. bier
  5. tomb
Noun
  • But the situation is far more tragic, with videos on social media showing dozens of coffins lined up beside mass graves, awaiting burial before the bodies decompose in the heat.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Wails and moans of grief interspersed the chanting, until the small coffin was lowered into the grave.
    — Victoria Davies, Rolling Stone, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of coffin
Noun
  • The two tight ends situation hurts a bit, but if Cooper Kupp is truly half in the Undertaker’s casket, a top-40 season is well within play for Shaheed.
    — Jake Ciely, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Her casket sat at the front of the church, draped with an American flag.
    — Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of casket
Noun
  • The same circle of dealers also sold artworks to the Metropolitan Museum, where the New York District Attorney’s Office seized five antiquities valued collectively at more than $3 million in 2022; those included a gold sarcophagus.
    — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Inside, a replica King Tut sarcophagus stood against a cinderblock wall, looking out at a table and some chairs.
    — Gregory Royal Pratt, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of sarcophagus
Noun
  • The coffin was unveiled late on Thursday to a throng of sobbing supporters, who were swaying and beating their heads in time to a sung lament as flowers were thrown from the bier into the crowd.
    — Reuters, USA Today, 4 July 2026
  • North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the bier of Kim Yong Nam on Tuesday to express condolences, and the funeral is scheduled for Thursday.
    — Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Definition of bier
Noun
  • In 2023, scientists used a portable MA-XRF imaging device to study ancient Egyptian paintings, part of a broader project investigating tomb chapels in the Theban Necropolis.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The tomb dates to the late 2nd century bce, demonstrating that a version of The Art of War closely resembling the text known today was in circulation by that time.
    — Ethan Teekah, Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of tomb

Browse Nearby Words

urgings
urn
urns
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Urn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/urn. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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