potter's field

American  

noun

(sometimes initial capital letters)

1. a piece of ground reserved as a burial place for strangers and the friendless poor. Matthew 27:7.

---

potter's field British  

noun

1. a cemetery where the poor or unidentified are buried at the public expense

2. New Testament the land bought by the Sanhedrin with the money paid for the betrayal of Jesus (which Judas had returned to them) to be used as a burial place for strangers and the friendless poor (Acts 1:19; Matthew 27:7)

---

Etymology

Origin of potter's field

First recorded in 1520–30

Example Sentences

“We played softball next to the potter’s field where he was buried and we would visit him on the holidays, with flowers and prayers,” she said.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 13, 2023

Calvary Catholic Cemetery — made a plan: Establish a potter’s field, gather the unclaimed dead and give them a proper burial.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 7, 2021

It is the home of New York’s potter’s field, the city’s cemetery for the indigent and anonymous — the homeless, those who cannot be identified, those whose families cannot afford to provide a burial.

From New York Times • Apr. 29, 2020

Forget the potter’s field near the Bronx full of freshly dug graves.

From Washington Post • Apr. 10, 2020

Soon after, they were buried in unmarked graves in a potter's field.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

Related Words

• garden
• graveyard
• mortuary
• tomb