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gravedigger

gravedigger

11 4.2
A person who digs holes in a cemetery to bury dead people
  • noun
  • /ˈɡreɪvˌdɪɡər/
translation icon : sepulturero
  • There's one job that Rod Stewart was famous for having: a gravedigger at Highgate Cemetery.

And so now our main character has to become the gravedigger of this place.

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Examples

  • Standing by an open grave, Hamlet watches the gravedigger-clown unearth a skull.

    Academic text (1994)
  • And so now our main character has to become the gravedigger of this place.

  • The highest paid gravedigger in the world.

  • Tell them you're a gravedigger.

  • The gravedigger stood between the headstones, next to the hole he had dug.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • I thought my father had saved the day by seeing to it that the gravediggers took up their shovels.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The gravedigger carefully dug the hole for the burial in the quiet cemetery.

  • After the funeral, the gravedigger filled the grave with dirt and placed flowers on top.

  • Every day, the gravedigger arrives early to prepare the graves before the ceremonies start.

Synonyms

digger
vsgravedigger
16 2.8

A person who digs holes or trenches as their job

is limited to digging holes specifically used for burial
grubber
vsgravedigger
  • UK
1 7.4

A person or tool that digs in the ground to find things

refers to the human duty of making places for burial rather than searching soil
delver
vsgravedigger
1 8.9

A person who digs the ground for work, like a miner or archaeologist

focuses specifically on preparing places used for burial
Fossores
vsgravedigger
  • Archaic
9.9

People who dig graves in old or religious places

is the ordinary modern job of digging places for burial
spader
vsgravedigger
7.6

A person who digs or turns soil with a spade

is concerned with making burial holes rather than general spade work

How Specialized

embalmer
  • Specialized
5 8.9
mortician
28 7.9
undertaker
31 5.5
gravedigger
11 4.2

Surface Forms

gravedigger singular
gravediggers plural

Morphology

gravedigger = grave + digger (transparent) = grave + dig + er

A straightforward compound of 'grave' + 'digger' (and 'digger' is 'dig' + '-er'), so the meaning is directly derived from its parts.

Etymology

Gravedigger comes from two simple parts: grave 'a hole for burying someone' and digger 'a person who digs'. So it literally names the job: someone who digs graves for burial.