churchyard

noun

church·​yard ˈchərch-ˌyärd 

: a yard that belongs to a church and is often used as a burial ground

Examples of churchyard in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Preferring to sleep each night in tents pitched outdoors, the monks have been surprised to see their message transcend ideologies, drawing huge crowds into churchyards, city halls and town squares across six states. —Deepa Bharath, Fortune, 11 Jan. 2026

An unusual structural failure recently caused a dramatic, sinkhole-like collapse in an historic English churchyard — revealing a 300-year-old family vault. —Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 26 Nov. 2025

Installing pipework through the churchyard for the heat pumps, which are in a fenced enclosure nearby, was a painstaking process. —Chris Baraniuk, Wired News, 13 Nov. 2025

Early rural cemeteries In the early 1800s, cemeteries in the United States started separating from churchyards and common grounds of large cities, such as Boston Common. —Shelley Mitchell, The Conversation, 31 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for churchyard

• asgard
• backyard
• barnyard
• blackguard
• bombard
• brickyard
• canard
• coastguard
• courtyard
• debarred
• diehard
• disbarred

Kids Definition

churchyard

noun

church·​yard ˈchərch-ˌyärd 

: a yard that belongs to a church and is often used as a burial ground