graveyard slot

British

noun

television the hours from late night until early morning when the number of people watching television is at its lowest

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"You were always on the graveyard slot when there were ghastly by-elections."

From BBC • Sep. 10, 2025

Peter WaggPRODUCER They moved us opposite Miami Vice and Dallas at 9:00 on a Friday, which back in the day meant you were in a graveyard slot.

From The Verge • Apr. 2, 2015

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, 1895-1979 Early in 1952 the Du Mont Television Network needed a low-budget show to throw into the graveyard slot opposite "Mr. Television," Milton Berle.

From Time Magazine Archive

But will Twin Peaks be done in by ABC's Saturday-night graveyard slot, where the show will run after Sunday's premiere?

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023