undertaker

American  

[uhn-der-tey-ker, uhn-der-tey-ker] / ˈʌn dərˌteɪ kər, ˌʌn dərˈteɪ kər /

noun

1. funeral director.

2. a person who undertakes something.

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undertaker British  

/ ˈʌndəˌteɪkə /

noun

1. a person whose profession is the preparation of the dead for burial or cremation and the management of funerals; funeral director

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Etymology

Origin of undertaker

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; undertake, -er ¹

Example Sentences

She would also make a “good detective, spy, and criminal mastermind. And undertaker.”

From Los Angeles Times

Doing so was the role of the undertaker, Van Der Zee explains, though the photographer had his own aesthetic duties.

From The Wall Street Journal

A mother whose stillborn baby was discovered in a Hull undertakers almost two years after his funeral says she is trying to forgive the man responsible.

From BBC

Every autumn, as leaves turn from green to auburn and float to the ground, we turn into a nation of outdoor undertakers.

From The Wall Street Journal

“I had so much metal inside me, I thought I wouldn’t need a burial when I died—the undertaker could just pop me in the recycling bin,” he quips in “Last Rites.”

From The Wall Street Journal