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.

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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)

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Etymology

Origin of potter's field

First recorded in 1520–30

Example Sentences

The family lived down the street from the potter’s field where the boy was first buried, and placed flowers there on holidays.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 13, 2023

After an autopsy, Joseph was buried for the first time at a potter’s field in the city.

From Washington Post • Dec. 8, 2022

There is room for more than 14,000 cremains in the potter’s field, and both men say they plan to continue claiming and burying the dead until they join them in the earthly embrace of Mt.

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

One of the worst things that could be said about someone from Harlem was that he was buried in potter’s field.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers

Related Words

• garden
• graveyard
• mortuary
• tomb