In contemporary Japanese, the term 'butsudan' generally indicates a household Buddhist altar installed at home as mentioned above, although in a broad sense it means the entire range of alters dedicated to Buddha including platforms (shumidan (An altar made of fine timber, generally with paneling)) to install Buddhist images in the hall of a temple.
広義には、仏を祀る壇全般を指し、寺院の仏堂において仏像を安置する壇（須弥壇）も含まれるが、現代日本語で「仏壇」と言えば、通常上記のように家庭内に安置するものを指す。