Definition

1. Noun:
   • A person or company whose business is to arrange and manage funerals: An undertaker is a professional who handles the practical arrangements and ceremonies following a death, including the care of the deceased, the funeral service, and burial or cremation.

Usage

• The term "undertaker" is a traditional and formal word for this profession. In modern American English, the terms funeral director or mortician are more commonly used and are often preferred as they sound less direct. "Undertaker" remains in use, particularly in British English and in legal or historical contexts.
• It is a countable noun.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The family met with the undertaker to plan the funeral service.
  • In the 19th century, the local undertaker also built coffins.

Advanced Usage

• "To undertake": The noun "undertaker" is directly derived from the verb "to undertake," meaning to commit oneself to and begin (a task or responsibility). Historically, an undertaker was someone who "undertook" to manage funeral arrangements.
  • He undertook the difficult project. (This is the verb form, not the profession.)

Variants and Related Words

• Funeral director (n): The modern, professional term for an undertaker.
• Mortician (n): Another synonym for undertaker, common in American English.
• Undertaking (n): This can refer to the profession or business of an undertaker (a funeral undertaking), or more generally, to any task or enterprise that is undertaken.
  • Starting a business is a risky undertaking. (Here it means a task or project.)
  • He works in the undertaking business. (Here it refers to the funeral profession.)

Synonyms

• Funeral director
• Mortician

Notes on Different Meanings

• The primary and almost exclusive modern meaning of "undertaker" relates to funeral management.
• Historically, in a broader and now obsolete sense, an "undertaker" could be anyone who undertook a task or project, such as a contractor. This general meaning is no longer in common use.

Noun

1. one whose business is the management of funerals