gravedigger

American  

[greyv-dig-er] / ˈgreɪvˌdɪg ər /

noun

1. a person whose occupation is digging graves.

2. burying beetle.

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Etymology

Origin of gravedigger

First recorded in 1585–95; grave ¹ + digger

Example Sentences

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

And in the following month, when asked about the mounting death toll, he replied simply: "I'm not a gravedigger" - a remark he later admitted regretting.

From BBC • Sep. 12, 2025

And Frank Diger, the cemetery owner who had employed my Basque grandfather, Bakersfield’s best gravedigger.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 1, 2022

“We used to do one or two funerals a month. Now, we’re short-handed,” said Mikhailo, a gravedigger who buries many of the dead that Antoniy prepares for burial.

From New York Times • Jun. 18, 2022

I cringed at the thought of becoming a gravedigger, but it was better than searching for work at Chicago’s sweatshops and slaughterhouses.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros