as in cemetery
a piece of land used for burying the dead
criminals and unidentified people are sometimes buried in a potter's field
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of potter's field
According to a 1951 Milwaukee Journal article, the potter's field was the burial site of many victims of the city's 1849-1850 cholera epidemic, which was estimated to have killed as many as 700 of the city's then-20,000 residents.
—
Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 11 Oct. 2024
The island is not only the largest potter's field in the U.S., but it is also believed to be the single largest AIDS burial site, according to the NYC Parks Department.
—Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 1 Dec. 2023
The family lived down the street from the potter's field where the boy was first buried, and placed flowers there on holidays.
—Maryclaire Dale, USA TODAY, 14 Jan. 2023
Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 11 Oct. 2024
The island is not only the largest potter's field in the U.S., but it is also believed to be the single largest AIDS burial site, according to the NYC Parks Department.
—Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 1 Dec. 2023
The family lived down the street from the potter's field where the boy was first buried, and placed flowers there on holidays.
—Maryclaire Dale, USA TODAY, 14 Jan. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for potter's field
Noun
-
To give voice to Congolese citizens, Anderson spoke with figures ranging from rebel leaders to medical personnel, from a regional king to an elderly woman tending subsistence crops in a cemetery.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
18 Feb. 2026
-
In Velasco, a town in the eastern Cuban province of Holguín, a man was buried in a cardboard box, his body carted on a wheelbarrow to the cemetery because of a lack of both of wooden coffins and fuel.—
Nora Gámez Torres,
Miami Herald,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
For example, Mermentau Cove previously used Mardi Gras funds to construct a pavilion for their graveyard and add flags to veterans' graves.—
Carlie Procell,
USA Today,
18 Feb. 2026
-
That number suggests the ancient permafrost is less like a graveyard and more like an untouched biological frontier — teeming with life forms that have been hidden from science for tens of thousands of years.—
Ryan Brennan,
Miami Herald,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Potter's field.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/potter%27s%20field. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
