boot hill

noun

, Western U.S.

1. a cemetery of a frontier settlement, especially one in which gunfighters were buried.

Word History and Origins

Origin of boot hill¹

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05

Example Sentences

McCurdy now lies buried on Boot Hill.

From Los Angeles Times

Riley watched warmups Saturday with his right foot encased in a protective walking boot; Hill did not appear to be at the game.

From Los Angeles Times

Boot Hill, which once held the graves of early settlers and cowboys who met unfortunate ends, sits north of downtown.

From Washington Times

Now, thanks to technology and a 77-year-old miner’s keen memory, a team of researchers believes it has found Taft’s long-forgotten “Boot Hill,” shedding new light on the story of one of the West’s last frontier towns.

From New York Times

Fifty-one bodies had been unearthed by the time Whitehead’s novel was published, more are probably yet to be found, and the final count will not provide finality about how many were dumped in what the boys called Boot Hill.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• garden
• graveyard
• mortuary
• tomb