potter's field

noun

: a public burial place for paupers, unknown persons, and criminals

Synonyms

• boneyard
• cemetery
• God's acre
• graveyard
• memorial park
• necropolis

Examples of potter's field in a Sentence

criminals and unidentified people are sometimes buried in a potter's field

Recent Examples on the Web

Lies explained that the field was Milwaukee's first potter's field ― a cemetery for poor, unclaimed and unknown people ― and was in use through the mid-1800s. —Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 11 Oct. 2024

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

After finding out from police that her son was buried in a potter's field, Wade Robinson sought to recover his body and give him a proper burial. —Deena Zaru, ABC News, 16 Nov. 2023

The family of Dexter Wade is calling for justice after the 37-year-old man was allegedly fatally struck by a Jackson, Mississippi Police Department cruiser in March and later buried in a potter's field without his family knowing. —Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 30 Oct. 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

Part of Music Hall was built on top of a potter's field, or burial grounds for poor people and immigrants who died without identification. —Victoria Moorwood, The Enquirer, 28 Oct. 2022

City officials announced last April that a potter's field for the poor and unclaimed on Hart Island would be used to bury victims of the virus. —Mirna Alsharif and Ray Sanchez, CNN, 7 May 2021

Word History

Etymology

from the mention in Matthew 27:7 of the purchase of a potter's field for use as a graveyard

First Known Use

1777, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for potter's field

• battlefield
• unconcealed
• unrepealed
• unrevealed
• afield
• airfield
• annealed
• appealed
• brownfield
• coalfield
• concealed
• congealed

Kids Definition

potter's field

noun

: a public burial place for the poor, unknown persons, and criminals