undertaker

noun

un·der·tak·er

ˌən-dər-ˈtā-kər,

sense 2 is

ˈən-dər-ˌtā-kər

Synonyms of undertaker next

: one who undertakes : one who takes the risk and management of business : entrepreneur

: one whose business is to prepare the dead for burial and to arrange and manage funerals

: an Englishman taking over forfeited lands in Ireland in the 16th and 17th centuries

Did you know?

You may wonder how the word undertaker made the transition from "one who undertakes" to "one who makes a living in the funeral business." The latter meaning descends from the use of the word to mean "one who takes on business responsibilities." In the 18th century, a funeral-undertaker was someone who undertook, or managed, a funeral business. There were many undertakers in those days, undertaking all sorts of businesses, but as time went on undertaker became specifically identified with the profession of arranging burial. Today, funeral director is more commonly used, but undertaker still appears.

Examples of undertaker in a Sentence

the undertaker wore black clothes and a solemn expression

Recent Examples on the Web In one of American cinema’s most riveting scenes, Vito Corleone, the Godfather, rebukes a distraught undertaker whose once-beautiful daughter has been beaten to a pulp by two young men — one of them the son of a powerful politician. —

Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 5 Aug. 2023 Set in a fantastical wild west, the story follows an undertaker and a town marshal who hate each other more than anything. —

USA TODAY, 19 Aug. 2023 The cold-blooded murders of entire Osage families were a community effort perpetrated by pillars of the white community — aided and abetted by local businessmen, lawmen, doctors, and undertakers. —

Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 July 2023 That the system is rigged against those who play by the rules suddenly dawns on the law-abiding undertaker, whom the film’s co-writer, novelist Mario Puzo, named Amerigo Bonasera — as in Goodnight, America, where threats lurk around every corner, and the rules ... —

Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 5 Aug. 2023 Like undertakers and garbage haulers, obstetricians see the nitty-gritty of human existence that can be ghastly and grotesque. —

Sarah Varney, NBC News, 22 July 2023 Oliver’s transit from the workhouse to an undertaker’s establishment to Fagin’s hide-out, spread across eight chapters in the Dickens, takes what seems like a blink of an eye here. —

Jesse Green, New York Times, 4 May 2023 The only touch of the moribund was provided by Jonathan Majors, who arrived, in style, as a Victorian undertaker: frock coat, high collar, black tie. —

Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2023 Vets often become a pet undertaker. —

Mckenna Ross/oregonlive.com, oregonlive, 10 July 2019 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'undertaker.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.