charnel house

noun

1. a house or place in which the bodies or bones of the dead are deposited.

charnel house

noun

1. (esp formerly) a building or vault where corpses or bones are deposited

Word History and Origins

Origin of charnel house¹

First recorded in 1550–60

Example Sentences

Out of this charnel house where an American flag hung at one end, technicians hoped to identify 388 sailors and Marines from the Oklahoma.

From Los Angeles Times

Now it's become a charnel house after Hamas gunmen burst out of the Gaza Strip on Saturday and laid waste to the village.

From Reuters

Technological "advances" had made it possible for governments to turn World War I into a merciless charnel house on a vast scale.

From Salon

The hospital doubles as a charnel house.

From New York Times

“The Buchenwald concentration camp was a charnel house of indescribable horrors,” Ferencz wrote.

From Los Angeles Times