graveyard
/'greivjɑ:d/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A cemetery; a burial ground: A piece of land, often near a church, where dead people are buried.
- A place associated with neglect, abandonment, or death: Used figuratively to describe a place where things are discarded or have come to an end.
Usage and Examples
- Literal Usage (A Burial Ground):
- The old graveyard behind the church is filled with historic tombstones.
- They visited the family plot in the graveyard every year on Memorial Day.
- Figurative Usage (A Place of Abandonment):
- The industrial park became a graveyard for failed business ventures.
- His hard drive is a graveyard for unfinished novel drafts.
Advanced Usage and Nuances
- "Graveyard shift": A work shift that typically runs through the late night and early morning hours (e.g., midnight to 8 a.m.). This idiom evokes the quiet and solitude associated with a cemetery at night.
- She works the graveyard shift at the hospital.
- "Graveyard of empires": A historical metaphor often used to describe a region, like Afghanistan, where imperial powers have historically been defeated.
- "Graveyard humor": A type of humor that makes light of serious or morbid subjects, such as death.
Variants and Related Words
- Cemetery (n): A more formal or modern term for a burial ground, often not affiliated with a specific church.
- Churchyard (n): A burial ground located in the grounds of a church.
- Burial ground (n): A general term for an area of land where burials occur.
- Necropolis (n): A large, ancient, or elaborate cemetery.
- Boneyard (n): (Informal) A cemetery or a place where things (like old cars or aircraft) are scrapped.
Synonyms
- Cemetery
- Burial ground
- Burying ground
- Memorial park (a modern, landscaped cemetery)
- God's acre (a poetic, archaic term)
Related Phrases and Idioms
- To have one foot in the graveyard: To be very old or very ill; to be near death.
- Silent as the graveyard: Extremely quiet.
Noun
- a tract of land used for burials