gravedigger

American  

[greyv-dig-er] / ˈgreɪvˌdɪg ər /

noun

• gravediggers
  plural

1. a person whose occupation is digging graves.

2. burying beetle.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• gravediggers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of gravedigger

First recorded in 1585–95; grave ¹ + digger

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gravedigger gravediggers

The banter between Hamlet and the gravedigger allows for the kind of witty wordplay that is Izzard’s stand-up stock-in-trade.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2026

At noon on Sunday, Amotz Bazar, the kibbutz gravedigger, pulled up the driveway to the cemetery in Nir Oz.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2025

Later, with help from a local gravedigger, she spent years cutting the grass, placing flowers on the graves and keeping the cemetery tidy.

From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2023

Kuznetsov never imagined he would be a gravedigger.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 25, 2023

Now that I heard his voice, I knew who he was—the first gravedigger in the play.

From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood

One relates the tale of her gravediggers, who carry the secret of her true burial place.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

In a secluded area of La Esperanza cemetery in La Guaira, gravediggers buried more than 150 bodies still unidentified since the earthquakes, AFP journalists saw.

From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026

He described the situation as "a real mess", lamenting that those who were once hailed as architects of democratic change had become "gravediggers".

From BBC ● May 7, 2026

Berger, who lost 20 kilograms to see the chamber himself, believes the stones show ancient gravediggers excavated the pit, digging up dirt and stones, setting them aside, and then using them to cover the body.

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 4, 2023

Most were attached to labor battalions, as cooks and stevedores, laborers and gravediggers.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly