graveyard

American  

[greyv-yahrd] / ˈgreɪvˌyɑrd /

noun

1. a burial ground, often associated with smaller rural churches, as distinct from a larger urban or public cemetery.

2. Informal. graveyard shift.

3. a place in which obsolete or derelict objects are kept.

   an automobile graveyard.

---

graveyard British  

/ ˈɡreɪvˌjɑːd /

noun

1. a place for graves; a burial ground, esp a small one or one in a churchyard

---

Etymology

Origin of graveyard

First recorded in 1765–75; grave ¹ + yard ²

Compare meaning

How does graveyard compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• cemetery vs. graveyard

Example Sentences

Earlier, eight people in black, presumably Oseguera's family members, rode in two cars that followed the white hearse with his remains to the graveyard.

From Barron's • Mar. 3, 2026

He drove to Arizona from his native California after determining that no other streamer had taken the graveyard shift on the Guthrie beat, and he plans on streaming the residence deep into the night.

From Slate • Feb. 23, 2026

But when police raided the animal rescue centre in Crays Hill, near Billericay in Essex, they discovered a mass graveyard.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026

Fears of ending up in some unemployment graveyard mean workers hold on to lower wages or jobs they hate.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

Terror darts through my heart, and the next thing I know, we’re running out of the graveyard, back across the street, and down the lane behind Morning Glory Cottage.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

Related Words

• burial ground
• cemetery