Funeral Definition & Meaning

American

British

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Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms funeral American [fyoo-ner-uhl] / ˈfyu nər əl /

noun

1. the ceremonies for a dead person prior to burial or cremation; obsequies.

2. a funeral procession.

adjective

1. of or relating to a funeral.

   funeral services; funeral expenses.

idioms

1. be someone's funeral, to have unpleasant consequences for someone.

   If you don't finish the work on time, it will be your funeral!

funeral British / ˈfjuːnərəl /

noun

1. 1. a ceremony at which a dead person is buried or cremated

   2. ( as modifier )

      a funeral service

2. a procession of people escorting a corpse to burial

3. informal worry; concern; affair

   that's your funeral

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 funeral More Idioms

1. see it's your funeral.

Other Word Forms

• prefuneral adjective

Etymology

Origin of funeral

1350–1400; Middle English (adj.) < Medieval Latin fūnerālis, equivalent to Latin fūner-, stem of fūnus funeral rites + -ālis -al 1; (noun), from early 16th cent., probably < Middle French funerailles < Medieval Latin fūnerālia, neuter plural of fūnerālis

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Starting Sunday the funeral home holding his body was surrounded by dozens of soldiers, national guardsmen, and police who interrogated anyone who came close.

From Barron's

His funeral will be held March 14 in New York.

From Los Angeles Times

“There’s a statistic about men receiving flowers for the first time at their funerals, and I think we have changed that,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times

General manager Helen Chandler said she did not expect hydrolosis to become the new funeral standard, but said its introduction would offer a different choice for grieving families.

From BBC

"I've met people who were very upset about their travel plans, there were thousands of people in the airport, I met people who told me they were missing funerals," she said.

From BBC

Related Words

• burial
• cremation

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.