cemetery

IPA/ˈsemətri/
KK[sˈɛmətˌɛri]IPA/ˈseməteri/

cemetery — noun

  • cemeterysingular
  • cemeteriesplural

1. a piece of land, usually outside a town or city, where dead people are buried in

1.nounB2
Definition

a piece of land, usually outside a town or city, where dead people are buried in the ground, often with a stone marker showing their name

Example

Priya visits the cemetery every spring to put flowers on her grandfather's grave.

collocation: visit a cemetery / put flowers on a grave

The old cemetery next to the river has graves from the nineteenth century.

Common collocations
  • visit a cemetery
  • cemetery + grave / headstone / tombstone
  • cemetery + burial / interment
  • cemetery + plot / lot
  • military cemetery
  • public cemetery
Synonyms
  • graveyard

    usually smaller and attached to a church; older than a typical cemetery

  • churchyard

    the burial ground immediately surrounding a church, a type of graveyard

  • burial ground

    a general and more formal term for any place where people are buried

Usage Note

Frequently used with the prepositions 'in' (inside the grounds) and 'at' (referring to the location for an event or purpose): 'They met in the cemetery' versus 'They met at the cemetery.' The definite article 'the' is almost always required unless the cemetery is named: 'We went to the cemetery' / 'We drove to Greenlawn Cemetery.'

Common Mistakes

My grandmother is in cemetery.
My grandmother is in the cemetery.
English countable nouns require an article before them; Chinese learners often drop 'the' or 'a.'

Word family

  • cemeterial
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While all four words refer to places where dead people are buried, they differ in scope and connotation. A cemetery is typically a large, planned burial ground not attached to a church — the most neutral and common term. A graveyard is smaller and usually surrounds a church; it can also be used more loosely for any burial ground. A churchyard is specifically the land directly next to a church, used for burials. Burial ground is a general, formal term that can describe any place where people are interred, from ancient sites to modern cemeteries. Memorial park is a modern, landscaped cemetery where flat markers replace upright headstones. For everyday use, cemetery is the safest choice; use graveyard for smaller, older sites attached to churches.

graveyard ↗churchyard ↗burial groundmemorial park

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • cemetery grounds
  • cemetery gates
  • cemetery wall

Prepositions

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

The word comes from Greek 'koimētērion' (dormitory, sleeping place), from 'koiman' (to put to sleep). Early Christians adopted it to describe burial grounds, based on the belief that the dead 'sleep' until resurrection. The word passed through Latin 'coemētērium' and Old French 'cimetiere' before entering English.