potter's field

noun

, (sometimes initial capital letters)

1. a piece of ground reserved as a burial place for strangers and the friendless poor. Matthew 27:7.

potter's field

noun

1. a cemetery where the poor or unidentified are buried at the public expense
2. New Testament the land bought by the Sanhedrin with the money paid for the betrayal of Jesus (which Judas had returned to them) to be used as a burial place for strangers and the friendless poor (Acts 1:19; Matthew 27:7)

Word History and Origins

Origin of potter's field¹

First recorded in 1520–30

Example Sentences

Army Corps of Engineers, before dredging and straightening the river, disinterred this Potter’s Field.

From Seattle Times

Soon after, they were buried in unmarked graves in a potter's field.

From Literature

The family lived down the street from the potter’s field where the boy was first buried, and placed flowers there on holidays.

From Seattle Times

“We played softball next to the potter’s field where he was buried and we would visit him on the holidays, with flowers and prayers,” she said.

From Seattle Times

After an autopsy, Joseph was buried for the first time at a potter’s field in the city.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• garden
• graveyard
• mortuary
• tomb