graveyard

American  

[greyv-yahrd] / ˈgreɪvˌyɑrd /

noun

1. a burial ground, often associated with smaller rural churches, as distinct from a larger urban or public cemetery.

2. Informal. graveyard shift.

3. a place in which obsolete or derelict objects are kept.

   an automobile graveyard.

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graveyard British  

/ ˈɡreɪvˌjɑːd /

noun

1. a place for graves; a burial ground, esp a small one or one in a churchyard

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Etymology

Origin of graveyard

First recorded in 1765–75; grave ¹ + yard ²

Compare meaning

How does graveyard compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• cemetery vs. graveyard

Example Sentences

“Well, this is the first night Miss Myrt’s in her grave. Now Increase Whittlesey’s not the only teacher in the graveyard, pushing up daisies.”

From Literature

We have been told about the graveyard to the south of town and I feel the ghosts of all the dead in the graveyard welcoming me to the end of the river run.

From Literature

Earlier, eight people in black, presumably Oseguera's family members, rode in two cars that followed the white hearse with his remains to the graveyard.

From Barron's

When the horses drew up to the graveyard’s towering iron gates, she descended the carriage steps, and greeted the cemetery’s watchman.

From Literature

All at once the big monkey stopped squalling and the bottoms got as still as a graveyard.

From Literature

Related Words

• burial ground
• cemetery