noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A place for the temporary reception and exposure of dead human bodies (as for example to store them during the winter until the hand-digging of a grave becomes practical after the spring thaw).
2. 2
   A room or building behind a bar (drinking establishment) where excessively drunk customers may be taken to sober up. Australia, New-Zealand, historical

Synonyms

All synonyms

charnel housemortuary

Etymology

From dead + house.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.