crematorium

noun

cre·​ma·​to·​ri·​um ˌkrē-mə-ˈtȯr-ē-əm 

ˌkre-

plural crematoria ˌkrē-mə-ˈtȯr-ē-ə 

ˌkre-

or crematoriums

: an establishment or structure in which the bodies of the dead are cremated

He had two funerals in the morning, both bodies due for the crematorium afterward …

—Jack Higgins

The depositions enabled the commission to gather further evidence from coroners and from the files in morgues, mortuaries and crematoriums.

—Alfred Stepan

Examples of crematorium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In October, 2000, Gerald Cook, a driver for a gas company in northwestern Georgia, was delivering propane to a crematorium that was not on his route; the usual driver had been too scared. —Sarah Larson, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024

Schütte seems to enjoy the possibility that some might gaze at this model and see a museum, not a crematorium. —Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 8 Oct. 2024

The facility had a cafeteria that could serve four hundred, a television studio, and a trash incinerator that could do double duty as a crematorium. —Patricia Marx, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2024

In one crematorium, the heat of the ovens burning uninterrupted for so long has melted iron grills. —Mandakini Gahlot, Foreign Affairs, 28 Apr. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1880, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

crematorium

noun

cre·​ma·​to·​ri·​um ˌkrē-mə-ˈtōr-ē-əm 

ˌkrem-ə-,

-ˈtȯr-

plural crematoriums or crematoria -ē-ə 

: crematory entry 1

Medical Definition

crematorium

noun

cre·​ma·​to·​ri·​um ˌkrē-mə-ˈtōr-ē-əm, ˌkrem-ə-, -ˈtȯr- 

plural crematoriums or crematoria -ē-ə 

: crematory