Meaning & use
graveyard shift
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A period of paid work that covers the deep night hours, usually beginning around midnight and ending near dawn.
Grammar: Usually takes the: she works the graveyard shift, or on the graveyard shift.
Patterns
- work the graveyard shift
- be on the graveyard shift
- switch to the graveyard shift
My brother took the graveyard shift at the warehouse because it paid more per hour.
Nurses on the graveyard shift often grab a quick meal around three in the morning.
After two years on the graveyard shift, she could no longer remember what a normal sleep schedule felt like.
Word forms
| plural | graveyard shifts |
|---|
Common combinations
- work the graveyard shift
- He works the graveyard shift at a gas station off the highway.
- be stuck on the graveyard shift
- The newest hires are usually stuck on the graveyard shift.
- switch to the graveyard shift
- She switched to the graveyard shift so she could be home for her kids after school.
- graveyard shift worker
- Many graveyard shift workers say that daylight sleep never feels as deep.
- volunteer for the graveyard shift
- Nobody wanted to volunteer for the graveyard shift over the holidays.
Synonyms and how they differ
- night shift
- Night shift is the neutral, general term for any overnight work, while graveyard shift suggests the very emptiest hours after midnight and sounds more colorful.
- overnight shift
- Overnight shift is plainer and common in job adverts, whereas graveyard shift is more casual and speaker-flavored.
- midnight shift
- Midnight shift is a narrower term for work starting right at midnight, while graveyard shift can be used loosely for the whole dead-of-night stretch.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: graveyard shift or swing shift?
graveyard shift vs swing shift
A swing shift covers the afternoon and evening, roughly until midnight, so it ends where the graveyard shift begins.
Practice
Dana finishes work at 8 a.m. and sleeps most of the day. Which phrase best describes her job schedule?
Choose one answer.
Working through the hours after midnight until morning is the graveyard shift. The swing shift ends around midnight and the day shift runs in daylight.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “graveyard shift”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.