crematory

noun

cre·​ma·​to·​ry ˈkrē-mə-ˌtȯr-ē 

ˈkre-

plural crematories

: a furnace for cremating

also : a place where the bodies of the dead are cremated : crematorium

… to help families with the most complicated logistics: filing the death certificate, getting the body released from a hospital, transporting it to the crematory or cemetery.

—April Dembosky

crematory adjective

Examples of crematory in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The clinics — Edwards Veterinary Care in Greeley and Western Skies End-of-Life Veterinary Care, which serves parts of Colorado and Wyoming — each discovered the malpractice in 2022 and have since ended their years-long contracts with the crematory, according to the lawsuit. —Michael Braithwaite, The Denver Post, 30 Jan. 2024

Two northern Colorado veterinary clinics are accusing a pet cemetery and crematory of fraudulent practices, alleging in a new lawsuit that employees disposed of pets’ bodies in landfills and mass graves while billing the clinics for cremations. —Michael Braithwaite, The Denver Post, 30 Jan. 2024

Roselawn Funeral Home in Pueblo, Colorado, was a second crematory listed on a 2021 death certificate from Return to Nature. —Lawrence Richard, Fox News, 20 Oct. 2023

According to four death certificates viewed by the AP, a crematory owned by Wilbert Funeral Services was listed as having done the cremations of the bodies. —Lawrence Richard, Fox News, 20 Oct. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1876, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

crematory

1 of 2 noun

cre·​ma·​to·​ry

ˈkrē-mə-ˌtōr-ē,

ˈkrem-ə-,

-ˌtȯr-

plural crematories

: a furnace for cremating or a building containing such a furnace

crematory

2 of 2 adjective

: of, relating to, or used in cremation

Medical Definition

crematory

noun

cre·​ma·​to·​ry ˈkrē-mə-ˌtōr-ē, ˈkrem-ə-, -ˌtȯr- 

plural crematories

: a furnace for cremating

also : an establishment containing such a furnace

crematory adjective