the graveyard shift

Meanings

1. 1nounsingularAmerican

   A work period that runs through the dead of night, typically beginning around midnight and ending in the early morning.

   Grammar: Singular, usually with the: he works the graveyard shift.

   Patterns

   • work the graveyard shift
   • on the graveyard shift

   Nurses on the graveyard shift check patients every hour.

   He took the graveyard shift at the factory because it paid extra.

   Working the graveyard shift left her tired all day.

2. 2nounsingularinformal

   The people who work during these overnight hours, considered as a group.

   Grammar: Singular, though it refers to a group: the graveyard shift is small tonight.

   Patterns

   • join the graveyard shift
   • the graveyard shift at somewhere

   The graveyard shift at the warehouse starts at midnight.

   Food is delivered each night for the graveyard shift at the hospital.

   The manager thanked the graveyard shift for keeping the plant running.

Common combinations

work the graveyard shift

My brother works the graveyard shift at a gas station.

take the graveyard shift

She took the graveyard shift to save for college.

on the graveyard shift

He is on the graveyard shift this week.

graveyard shift worker

Graveyard shift workers often struggle to sleep in daylight.

graveyard shift pay

The graveyard shift pay is better than the day rate.

Synonyms and how they differ

night shift

Night shift covers any shift at night, while the graveyard shift refers to the deepest hours after midnight.

overnight shift

Overnight shift is neutral and descriptive, while the graveyard shift is colourful and suggests quiet, lonely hours.

late shift

A late shift may end around midnight, so it is not as extreme as the graveyard shift.

swing shift

Swing shift usually means evening hours, so it is earlier than the graveyard shift.

Opposites

Word family

graveyard noun

a place where the dead are buried

shift noun

a set period of work

shift work noun

jobs done in rotating time periods

Commonly confused: the graveyard shift or night shift?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “the graveyard shift”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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