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Definition of "hearse" []

  • A vehicle for conveying a coffin to a church or cemetery. (noun)
  • Roman Catholic Church A triangular candelabrum used at Tenebrae during Holy Week. (noun)
  • A framelike structure over a coffin or tomb on which to hang epitaphs. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "hearse" in a sentence
  • "For thy hearse to strew the ways, "he has a note to tell us that _hearse_ is not to be taken" in our sense of a carriage for the dead, but in the older sense of a tomb or framework over a tomb, "though the obvious meaning is" to strew the ways for thy hearse. ""
  • "Kids, parents, educators and politicians alike are just beginning to sense that the hearse is at the back door."
  • "Then, the last remaining candle on the hearse is placed upon the altar, to represent the Passion and sacrificial death of Christ; finally, it is hidden behind the altar, to represent His Burial."