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.

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graveyard British  

/ ˈɡreɪvˌjɑːd /

noun

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

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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

Explanation

A graveyard is an area where the dead are buried. When you walk through a historic graveyard, you'll see many beautiful old headstones and tombs. Other names for a graveyard are "cemetery" and "burial ground." It's slightly more common to use graveyard, a word that dates from about 1683, for the burial site near a church. If you work at a graveyard, you might care for the grave markers and plants. If, on the other hand, you work a graveyard shift, that simply means you work late at night.

Example Sentences

Neither idea seems to make sense to me.I have worked for 54 years and I have increased my benefits through years of working six-day weeks, nights, graveyard shifts, Sundays and holidays in my early years.

From MarketWatch • May 4, 2026

A couple’s $800,000 renovation brought a circa-1893 chapel in England, complete with a graveyard, back to life.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 25, 2026

The remains of at least 50 infants and six adults have been dumped at a graveyard in Trinidad and Tobago, police say.

From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026

But short-sellers don’t have to scour the graveyard for ideas.

From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026

The graveyard faced east, all the stones and markers laid out in a fan shape bordered with saw palmetto and evergreen trees.

From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce

Related Words

• burial ground
• cemetery