Cemetery Terminology: Plain-English Glossary of Burial Terms

Plain-English definitions of cemetery terms: interment, inurnment, crypt, niche, columbarium, vault, liner, perpetual care, interment rights, markers and more.

Updated Oct 21, 2026
6 min read
14 sources checked
By Matt Morgan

The short answer

Cemetery terminology is the vocabulary on a cemetery's price list and contract: interment (burial, entombment or placing remains in a niche), inurnment (placing cremated remains in an urn), crypts and niches, vaults and liners, perpetual care and interment rights. Knowing the terms helps you compare offers, because the same word can mean different things on different price lists.

Key takeaways

Interment is the broad word for permanent disposition of remains, whether by burial, entombment or placement in a niche. Inurnment means placing cremated remains in an urn, and it is not the same as interring them.
A mausoleum holds caskets in crypts, while a columbarium holds urns of cremated remains in niches. Some structures combine both.
A vault encloses the whole casket and a grave liner covers only the top and sides. No state law requires either, according to the FTC, but many cemeteries do.
What you buy is usually an 'interment right', the right to bury one person in a space, plus the right to a memorial. It is not ownership of the land.
Perpetual care (also called endowment care) pays for general grounds upkeep from a trust. It usually covers the grounds rather than repairs to your own headstone, so check your contract.

On this page

Places and structures
Actions and processes
Rights, paperwork and money
Vaults, liners and containers
Markers and memorials
Green burial terms
Terms people often mix up
What to do next

Cemetery terminology is the vocabulary on a cemetery's price list, contract and rules. The words that cause the most confusion are interment (burial, entombment or placing remains in a niche), inurnment (placing cremated remains in an urn), crypt and niche, vault and liner, and perpetual care. This glossary explains each in plain English, using definitions from state law and government consumer guides where they exist.

Places and structures

These terms describe where remains are placed.

Term	What it means
Cemetery	A place used or intended for interment. Texas law says this includes a graveyard, burial park, mausoleum or any other area containing one or more graves.
Graveyard	Merriam-Webster defines it as a cemetery. In everyday use the two words mean the same thing.
Churchyard	A yard that belongs to a church and is often used as a burial ground.
Grave	A space in the ground for burial. A plot or grave space is the specific spot, and some cemeteries sell larger family lots.
Mausoleum	A durable, fireproof structure used for entombment. California defines it as a building in which human remains are entombed.
Crypt	A chamber in a mausoleum large enough to hold human remains.
Columbarium	A structure with small spaces for cremated remains. It can stand alone, sit outdoors or be part of a mausoleum.
Niche	A small space in a columbarium, mausoleum or wall that holds an urn.
Lawn crypt	A below-ground receptacle installed in multiple units for ground burial. New York describes it as essentially a grave with a vault-like structure installed by the cemetery.
Scattering garden	An area where the cremated remains of unrelated people are scattered. New York notes that there is typically no lot owner for remains placed this way.
Ossuary	A structure where cremated remains are poured and commingled, in New York's description. New York says remains placed in an ossuary cannot be disinterred or removed.
Lych-gate	A roofed gate in a churchyard under which a bier rests during the first part of the burial service.

For more on above-ground options, see mausoleum burial and columbarium niches.

Actions and processes

Term	What it means
Interment	The permanent disposition of remains by entombment, burial or placement in a niche (Texas law). California describes it as burial in the ground, in a mausoleum or in a niche.
Entombment	Above-ground placement of a body in a mausoleum. New York describes a mausoleum as a place for "above-ground entombment of full-body remains."
Inurnment	The placement of cremated remains in an urn (Texas law and California's consumer guide).
Disinterment	Moving remains from their final resting place. In New York, everyone with a legal right to consent or object must consent in writing, and the cemetery must agree too. See our exhumation FAQ.
Opening and closing	The cemetery's charge to dig the grave and fill it in after the casket is placed. The Funeral Consumers Alliance (brochure revised 2020) says it can range from about $300 to $1,500 depending on the grave size and the time of day, week or year.
Multiple-depth (double-depth) grave	A grave that holds more than one casket, one above another. California says burial in one may limit disinterment rights, and special fees may apply.
Pre-need	Arrangements made and sometimes paid for in advance. California's consumer guide calls this a preneed agreement or contract.

Rights, paperwork and money

Term	What it means
Interment right	The right to inter the remains of one person in a plot (Texas law). New York says a cemetery sells this right and the right to have a memorial, not real estate.
Lot owner	The person who holds the interment rights to a lot. New York notes the buyer need not be the owner, and there can be more than one owner.
Deed or certificate	The document recording your right to use the space. In New York, the buyer must receive a receipt, a deed and the cemetery's rules.
Affidavit of heirship	In New York, a sworn statement filed with the cemetery by a group of lot owners who inherit a space together, listing all owners.
Rules and regulations	The cemetery's written policies on memorials, decorations and other matters. See cemetery rules and regulations.
Perpetual care / endowment care	Money from part of each sale, held in trust, whose income pays for general upkeep. Texas defines perpetual care as the maintenance, repair and care of all places in the cemetery, and California calls the fund an endowment care trust fund. See perpetual care fees.

Vaults, liners and containers

A burial vault completely encloses the casket in the grave. It can be made of concrete, steel or lightweight fiberglass-type materials, according to the Funeral Consumers Alliance. A grave liner is a less expensive concrete cover for the top and sides only. New York's Division of Cemeteries says vaults seal, while liners must have two holes in the bottom. Both are types of outer burial container.

No state law anywhere requires one, according to the FTC, but many cemeteries do to keep the grave from sinking. California adds that neither container prevents the body from eventually decomposing. Compare them in grave liner vs vault and burial vaults explained.

Markers and memorials

Term	What it means
Memorial	Texas law uses this for a headstone, tombstone, gravestone, monument or other marker denoting a grave.
Marker	A smaller memorial. Madison's rules treat a memorial within set dimensions (maximum 24 by 12 by 30 inches) as a marker.
Monument	A larger memorial. In Madison's rules, memorials above the marker limits are considered monuments, with a maximum height of 60 inches.
Upright headstone	A standing stone. The VA's upright granite and marble headstones are 42 inches long, 13 inches wide and 4 inches thick.
Flat (flush) marker	A marker set level with the ground. The VA's flat granite and marble markers are 24 by 12 by 4 inches, and its flat bronze marker is 24 by 12 inches.
Niche marker	A small marker for a columbarium niche. The VA's bronze niche marker is 8.5 by 5.5 inches.
Cenotaph	A monument, sometimes shaped like a tomb, to a person buried elsewhere. The word comes from the Greek for "empty tomb".

Our guides to types of headstones and grave markers and headstone regulations cover choices and approval rules.

Green burial terms

The Green Burial Council certifies three kinds of burial ground:

Hybrid cemetery: a section of a conventional cemetery with no vaults, biodegradable containers and no toxic chemicals.
Natural cemetery: land set aside for natural burial only, with ecological assessments and limits on markers.
Conservation cemetery: land on an easement or in a land trust, where burial fees help fund conservation and land stewardship.

Learn more in natural burial grounds and conservation cemeteries.

Terms people often mix up

Interment vs inurnment. Inurnment is the step of placing ashes in an urn. Interment is the final placement of the remains, so an urn placed in a niche or buried in a grave has been interred.
Mausoleum vs columbarium. Caskets go in crypts in a mausoleum, and urns go in niches in a columbarium. A cemetery can have either one.
Vault vs liner. The vault fully encloses the casket, and the liner covers only the top and sides.
Buying a plot vs owning land. The right to bury someone in a space is not the same as owning the ground.
Perpetual care vs headstone care. A perpetual care fund pays for the grounds. Repairs to your own marker are usually separate.

For cremation vocabulary, see cremation terminology. For wider funeral vocabulary, see the glossary of funeral terms, and for estate and legal words see death and estate terms.

What to do next

When you get a cemetery price list, circle each term you do not recognize and ask the office to explain it in writing.
Ask whether the price covers the grave, opening and closing, perpetual care and the marker foundation, or whether they are separate charges.
Read the cemetery's rules before you buy. Our guide to choosing a cemetery shows what to compare.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between interment and inurnment?

Interment is the permanent disposition of remains by burial, entombment or placement in a niche. Inurnment is placing cremated remains in an urn. A family often does both in order: the ashes are inurned in an urn, and the urn is then interred in a grave or niche.

What is the difference between a mausoleum and a columbarium?

A mausoleum is a durable, fireproof structure used for entombment of full-body remains in crypts. A columbarium is a structure with niches that hold cremated remains in urns. A cemetery can have either one or both, and a columbarium can be part of a mausoleum.

Is a grave liner the same as a burial vault?

No. A vault, made of concrete, steel or similar materials, fully encloses the casket, while a concrete grave liner covers only the top and sides, according to the Funeral Consumers Alliance. Liners cost less. No state or federal law requires either one, but most cemeteries do.

What does perpetual care mean at a cemetery?

It is a fund the cemetery builds from a portion of each sale and invests to pay for upkeep of the grounds, such as mowing and roads. California calls this an endowment care trust fund. It generally covers the grounds, not repair of an individual marker, so check your contract.

Are 'cemetery' and 'graveyard' the same thing?

In modern usage, yes. Merriam-Webster defines a graveyard as a cemetery, and Texas law includes a graveyard in its definition of a cemetery. A churchyard is the narrower term for a yard belonging to a church that is often used for burials.

What is a cenotaph?

A cenotaph, from the Greek for 'empty tomb', is a monument to a person who is buried elsewhere. It can look like a tomb, but no remains lie beneath it.

Sources we checked

1.Texas Health and Safety Code section 711.001 (definitions) · State of Texas (statute text)
2.Consumer Guide to Funeral and Cemetery Purchases (Terms to Know) · California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau
3.Buying a Final Resting Place · New York Department of State, Division of Cemeteries
4.Final Disposition Options and Disinterment · New York Department of State, Division of Cemeteries
5.Outer Enclosures · New York Department of State, Division of Cemeteries
6.Transferring a Final Resting Place · New York Department of State, Division of Cemeteries
7.Traditional Burial (brochure, revised 12/2020) · Funeral Consumers Alliance
8.The FTC Funeral Rule · Federal Trade Commission
9.Types of Headstones, Markers, and Medallions · VA National Cemetery Administration
10.What is green burial? · Green Burial Council
11.Forest Hill Cemetery Rules and Regulations (adopted September 5, 2023) · City of Madison, Wisconsin
12.Cenotaph · Encyclopaedia Britannica
13.Graveyard · Merriam-Webster
14.Lych-gate · Merriam-Webster

Written by Matt Morgan, Founder and editor

Matt founded End of Life Tools and researches every guide from primary sources such as the FTC, SSA, VA, IRS and state law. He is not a licensed professional, and guides are general information, not advice.

Checked against 14 official and industry sources · Updated Oct 21, 2026How we write and check guides

Please note: General information, not legal, financial or medical advice. Check the details with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Rules and prices change, so confirm anything important with the organization concerned. If you spot something out of date, tell us.

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