boot hill

American  

noun

Western U.S.

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

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Etymology

Origin of boot hill

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

During the four years of research of the school’s Boot Hill grave sites that ended in 2016, Kimmerle’s team identified what they thought were 50 human graves, and eventually found 55.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• garden
• graveyard
• mortuary
• tomb