undertaker
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of undertaker
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at undertake, -er 1
Explanation
An undertaker is someone who prepares a body for burial or cremation. When a loved one dies, you'll have to visit an undertaker. An undertaker doesn't literally "take you under" after you die, but he or she does prepare your body for burial or cremation and assists a family with all aspects of funeral arrangements. If someone in your family dies, an undertaker can help you decide between burial and cremation. An undertaker can help plan a wake and the details of the funeral service. Undertakers help you select a coffin or urn. Of course, you will be making those choices for someone else — not for yourself.
Vocabulary lists containing undertaker
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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The Stranger
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Bronx Masquerade
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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.
Recalls a peeved Mr. Blankfein: “It was like the undertaker calling at your sickbed.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
A local undertaker said the embalmed remains of the Iranian sailors were being sent back in sealed boxes.
From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026
A pilgrimage to the oldest concrete road in America detours to meeting a descendant of the undertaker who embalmed Chef Boyardee.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 21, 2026
Her mother died on 24 November 2021, but it was May 2022 before the undertaker said she could collect the ashes.
From BBC • May 24, 2024
Oh, and she hoped that undertaker was fixing Tea Cake up fine.
From "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
