graveyard

noun

ˈgrāv-ˌyärd How to pronounce graveyard (audio)
Definition of graveyardnext
as in cemetery
a piece of land used for burying the dead reflecting the Quaker avoidance of personal vanity, the graveyard is not marked by so much as a single headstone

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of graveyard More than 80 years after the end of World War II, one of Europe’s largest wartime graveyards is once again emerging from the water. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 4 Aug. 2026 The same play-offs that had proved to be the graveyard of York’s promotion hopes at the semi-final stage 12 months earlier beckoned. — Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026 But what was once a graveyard of drug discovery is quickly turning into a race for a multibillion-dollar market, with Latigo Biotherapeutics publishing positive data on Wednesday for a therapy meant to rival a Vertex medicine already on the market. — Jonathan Wosen, STAT, 29 July 2026 In short, there is a very real possibility that the PCSA will join the graveyard of other college sports bills. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 28 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for graveyard
Recent Examples of Synonyms for graveyard
cemetery
Noun
  • Reached by phone for comment, David Pimm, the president of the Bohemian National Cemetery Association, said two of the cemetery’s three retorts, or furnaces, were not working due to an electrical fire.
    — Gregory Royal Pratt, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026
  • The narrative begins with a prologue in which a man mows grass in a cemetery dotted with twenty-four unmarked graves.
    — Keziah Weir, Vanity Fair, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of cemetery

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gravestones
graveyard
graveyards
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Cite this Entry

“Graveyard.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/graveyard. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on graveyard

Nglish: Translation of graveyard for Spanish Speakers

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