undertaker

noun

un·​der·​tak·​er

ˌən-dər-ˈtā-kər,

sense 2 is

ˈən-dər-ˌtā-kər 

1

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

2

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

3

: 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.

Synonyms

• funeral director
• mortician

Examples of undertaker in a Sentence

the undertaker wore black clothes and a solemn expression

Recent Examples on the Web

This discovery becomes a tear in the banal fabric of everyday life, in which Maria reluctantly assumes the triad of caretaker, undertaker and executor – faced with a series of subdued and, at times, perverse bureaucratic exchanges. —Olivia Bennett, Variety, 12 Aug. 2025

The priest spoke to him in the room, the undertaker in the corridor. —Anne Enright, New Yorker, 27 July 2025

Funeral directors were originally known as undertakers — those who took on the work no one else wanted to do. —Calista Oetama, Sacbee.com, 24 June 2025

McGrath as Kenny Klaus, the town’s undertaker, who is old enough to remember seeing Richard and Kristen in Our Town. —Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 18 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for undertaker

• automaker
• boilermaker
• cabinetmaker
• coffeemaker
• troublemaker
• blackacre
• caretaker
• clockmaker
• dressmaker
• filmmaker
• homemaker
• icebreaker

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Kids Definition

undertaker

noun

un·​der·​tak·​er ˈən-dər-ˌtā-kər 

: a person whose business is to prepare the dead for burial or cremation and to take charge of funerals

Medical Definition

undertaker

noun

un·​der·​tak·​er ˈən-dər-ˌtā-kər 

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

called also mortician