graveyard shift

noun

: a work shift beginning late at night (such as 11 o'clock)

also : the workers on such a shift

Examples of graveyard shift in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Workers on the graveyard shift, as another example, must navigate fatigue and low light levels more frequently than the average driver. — Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026

Dyer was working the graveyard shift as a security guard at Sands of Kahana when he was killed, according to a GoFundMe organized by family and friends of his wife, Joy. — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 2026

One morning this past spring, Bielawski delivered a singing telegram to a woman getting off the graveyard shift at a Waffle House. — Bob Herman, STAT, 7 July 2026

Ryan McGinley spent a good chunk of last year photographing friends on the graveyard shift. — Samuel Hine, Curbed, 5 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1908, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for graveyard shift

• adrift
• airlift
• facelift
• festschrift
• forklift
• gearshift
• makeshift
• redshift
• sealift
• snowdrift
• spendthrift
• clift