pallbearer

noun pall·bear·er \ ˈpȯl-ˌber-ər \

Updated on: 13 Apr 2018

Definition of pallbearer

: a person who helps to carry the coffin at a funeral; also : a member of the escort or honor guard of the coffin who does not actually help to carry it

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Recent Examples of pallbearer from the Web

In addition to the work stoppage, Local 10 of the ILWU voted to send four honorary pallbearers to the funeral of Dr. King, who was an honorary member of the ILWU.

— johnny miller, San Francisco Chronicle, "US ports closed to honor MLK," 28 Mar. 2018
Anthony Davis was asked to be one of the honorary pallbearers at the funeral of former New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Tom Benson, who died last week.

— william guillory, NOLA.com, "Anthony Davis cherishes role as honorary pallbearer for Tom Benson," 22 Mar. 2018
Honorary pallbearers and friends are Philip Goff, Edward Valenti and Michael Shear.

— courant.com, "William V. Baroni Sr.," 20 Mar. 2018
Four of Feis’ pallbearers were football players wearing their jerseys.

— karen mizoguchi, PEOPLE.com, "Football Coach Aaron Feis Mourned as a Hero Who Ran 'Towards Danger' During Fla. School Shooting," 22 Feb. 2018
Two years later, after Grissom died in the Apollo 1 fire, his pallbearers were his fellow Mercury astronauts—and Gemini crew mate John Young.

— eric berger, Ars Technica, "John Young, a pioneer who flew four different spacecraft, has died," 6 Jan. 2018
The officers held their stance as the casket, draped with a Maryland Flag, was taken inside the building by pallbearers for the funeral service.

— The Aegis, "Harford County and Maryland say farewell to Sen. Wayne Norman," 10 Mar. 2018
That same year, Ronald Stokes, a 29-year-old black Muslim man, was killed when LAPD shot several unarmed people at Muslim Temple 27; Malcolm X was among his pallbearers.

— liz ohanesian, Los Angeles Magazine, "Tucked Away Behind a Macy’s Bed Display, a Lesson in Civil Rights History," 6 Mar. 2018
His 12 grandsons will serve as pallbearers at his funeral on Friday.

— jennifer brett, AJC.com, "Rev. Billy Graham’s casket was built by prisoners," 1 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pallbearer.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.