MEANING
A vehicle used to carry a coffin to a funeral or burial.
Use it for
Funeral journeys, arrival of death at a household, public mourning.Mark a vehicle's ritual function without adding gratuitous menace.
Words that belong together
- black hearse
- horse-drawn hearse
- follow the hearse
On the page
The hearse stopped where the gravel road ended.
Two gray horses drew the hearse past the school.
She recognized the driver of the hearse before she recognized the coffin.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- hearse
Usage notes
Primary category: gothic. Historically horse-drawn as well as motorized; distinguish vehicle from bier and coffin. Plural hearses.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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