a cemetery where poor or unidentified people are buried at the public expense
2. New Testament
the land bought by the Sanhedrin with the money paid for the betrayal of Jesus (which Judas had returned to them) to be used as a burial place for strangers and the friendless poor (Acts 1:19; Matthew 27:7)
potter's field in American English
US
a burial ground for paupers or unknown persons
Word origin
< a burial place for strangers in Jerusalem (Matt. 27:7), ? orig. a potter's field