potter's field

as in cemetery
a piece of land used for burying the dead criminals and unidentified people are sometimes buried in a potter's field

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 potter's field Lies explained that the field was Milwaukee's first potter's field ― a cemetery for poor, unclaimed and unknown people ― and was in use through the mid-1800s. Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 11 Oct. 2024 According to a 1951 Milwaukee Journal article, the potter's field was the burial site of many victims of the city's 1849-1850 cholera epidemic, which was estimated to have killed as many as 700 of the city's then-20,000 residents. Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 11 Oct. 2024 Lies explained that the field was Milwaukee's first potter's field ― a cemetery for poor, unclaimed and unknown people ― and was in use through the mid-1800s. Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 11 Oct. 2024 According to a 1951 Milwaukee Journal article, the potter's field was the burial site of many victims of the city's 1849-1850 cholera epidemic, which was estimated to have killed as many as 700 of the city's then-20,000 residents. Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 11 Oct. 2024 The island is not only the largest potter's field in the U.S., but it is also believed to be the single largest AIDS burial site, according to the NYC Parks Department. Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 1 Dec. 2023 After finding out from police that her son was buried in a potter's field, Wade Robinson sought to recover his body and give him a proper burial. Deena Zaru, ABC News, 16 Nov. 2023 The family of Dexter Wade is calling for justice after the 37-year-old man was allegedly fatally struck by a Jackson, Mississippi Police Department cruiser in March and later buried in a potter's field without his family knowing. Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 30 Oct. 2023 The family lived down the street from the potter's field where the boy was first buried, and placed flowers there on holidays. Maryclaire Dale, USA TODAY, 14 Jan. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for potter's field
Noun
  • Flag placement event at national cemetery Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery hosts a flag placement event at 8 a.m. May 24 at the cemetery, 1700 Cabrillo Memorial Drive, and volunteers are needed to place flags on gravesites.
    Linda Mcintosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 May 2025
  • Social media sleuths also discovered Walters had poached at least two other deer from the cemetery.
    Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 15 May 2025
Noun
  • At the beginning of the century, archaeologists in a town just outside Paris discovered an ancient graveyard.
    Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 30 Apr. 2025
  • The common trap of entrepreneurial distraction The business graveyard is filled with brilliant ideas that never reached their potential because their creators abandoned them too quickly.
    Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Potter's field.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/potter%27s%20field. Accessed 20 May. 2025.

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