Meaning & use
funeral parlor
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
a business that prepares dead bodies and arranges funerals for families
Grammar: Countable: you can say a funeral parlor or two funeral parlors.
Patterns
- at a funeral parlor
- go to a funeral parlor
The family chose a small funeral parlor near their home.
Visitation will be held at the funeral parlor on Tuesday evening.
She works at a funeral parlor, helping families plan services.
nouncountable
the building where such a business operates and where bodies are kept before burial or cremation
Grammar: Also countable; often used with the definite article when both speaker and listener know which building is meant.
Patterns
- the funeral parlor on Main Street
- meet at the funeral parlor
The funeral parlor on Main Street has been in the same family for generations.
They met at the funeral parlor to discuss the arrangements.
The new funeral parlor opened last month next to the church.
Word forms
| plural | funeral parlors |
|---|
Common combinations
- funeral parlor director
- The funeral parlor director explained the costs clearly.
- local funeral parlor
- The local funeral parlor handled all the details.
- funeral parlor visitation
- Friends are invited to the funeral parlor visitation on Friday.
- at the funeral parlor
- We will meet at the funeral parlor at ten o'clock.
Synonyms and how they differ
- funeral home
- The more common term in American English; it sounds slightly warmer and is used in the same way.
- mortuary
- More formal and often refers to the place where bodies are kept, not the business that arranges funerals.
- undertaker's
- British and old-fashioned; it focuses on the person or business that arranges burials.
Word family
- funeral noun
- The ceremony or service held for a dead person.
- funeral director noun
- A person whose job is to arrange funerals.
- funereal adjective
- Suitable for or suggesting a funeral; gloomy and serious.
Commonly confused: funeral parlor or parlor?
funeral parlor vs parlor
A parlor is a sitting room or a shop offering a service (like a beauty parlor). A funeral parlor is specifically for funerals and dead bodies.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'funeral parlor' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A funeral parlor is a business that prepares bodies and arranges funerals, so sentence B fits. Sentence A confuses it with a sitting room, sentence C with a beauty parlor, and sentence D with a playroom.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “funeral parlor”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.