graverobber

[greyv-rob-er] /ˈgreɪvˌrɒb ər/

noun

a person who steals valuables from graves and tombs:

Graverobbers had emptied the Mayan tomb before archaeologists could examine its contents.

a person who steals corpses after burial, especially for medical dissection.

Origin of graverobber

grave¹ + robber

Related forms

graverobbing, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2017.
Cite This Source

Examples from the Web for grave-robbing

Historical Examples

Villages, expert in two hundred generations of grave-robbing, cower among the mounds of wastage, and whoop at the daily tourist.

Letters of Travel (1892-1913) Rudyard Kipling
Miss Lowenstein, I have some reason for thinking that you know who is implicated in that grave-robbing business.

Out of a Labyrinth Lawrence L. Lynch
In the same issue is recorded a mob's assault on a doctor whom they suspected, rightly it seems, of grave-robbing.

An Enquiry into the Causes of the Frequent Executions at Tyburn (1725) Bernard Mandeville

What Is the Difference Between Discreet and Discrete?
Learn the correct uses of these two commonly confused homophones.
What Character Was Removed from the Alphabet?
What mistaken pronunciation gave this character its name?
Apostrophes 101
This small mark has two primary uses: to signify possession or omitted letters.
How Do I Get a Word into the Dictionary?
People invent new words all the time, but which ones actually make it?

Few English speakers likely know this word

Scrabble Words With Friends