bury

[ber-ee]

verb (used with object)

buried, burying 

1. to put in the ground and cover with earth.

   The pirates buried the chest on the island.

2. to put (a corpse) in the ground or a vault, or into the sea, often with ceremony.

   They buried the sailor with full military honors.

   Synonyms: inhume, entomb, inter
   Antonyms: exhume, disinter

3. to plunge in deeply; cause to sink in.

   to bury an arrow in a target.

4. to cover in order to conceal from sight.

   She buried the card in the deck.

   Synonyms: secrete, hide
   Antonyms: uncover

5. to immerse (oneself).

   He buried himself in his work.

6. to put out of one's mind.

   to bury an insult.

7. to consign to obscurity; cause to appear insignificant by assigning to an unimportant location, position, etc..

   Her name was buried in small print at the end of the book.

noun

plural

buries 

1. Nautical.,  housing.

bury

¹

/ ˈbɛrɪ /

verb

1. to place (a corpse) in a grave, usually with funeral rites; inter

2. to place in the earth and cover with soil

3. to lose through death

4. to cover from sight; hide

5. to embed; sink

   to bury a nail in plaster

6. to occupy (oneself) with deep concentration; engross

   to be buried in a book

7. to dismiss from the mind; abandon

   to bury old hatreds

8. to cease hostilities and become reconciled

9. to refuse to face a problem

Bury

²

/ ˈbɛrɪ /

noun

1. a town in NW England, in Bury unitary authority, Greater Manchester: an early textile centre. Pop: 60 178 (2001)

2. a unitary authority in NW England, in Greater Manchester. Pop: 181 900 (2003 est). Area: 99 sq km (38 sq miles)

Other Word Forms

• rebury verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of bury¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English berien, buryen, Old English byrgan “to bury, conceal”; akin to Old English beorgan “to hide, protect, preserve”; cognate with Dutch, German bergen, Gothic bairgan, Old Norse bjarga

Word History and Origins

Origin of bury¹

Old English byrgan to bury, hide; related to Old Norse bjarga to save, preserve, Old English beorgan to defend

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. bury the hatchet, to become reconciled or reunited.

2. bury one's head in the sand, to avoid reality; ignore the facts of a situation.

   You cannot continue to bury your head in the sand—you must learn to face facts.

Example Sentences

He said drugs, money and other paraphernalia were "buried underground" at Tuthill Quarry, with hidden cameras installed by the gang to monitor the set up.

From BBC

There were no records of the people buried there, so we counted the graves ourselves.

From BBC

Plans for 3,400 homes were approved, with Israel's finance minister Bezalel Smotrich saying the plan would bury the idea of a Palestinian state "because there is nothing to recognise and no one to recognise".

From BBC

A 20-day-old baby girl who was found buried alive in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is fighting for survival, hospital authorities say.

From BBC

Classic mystery crime: the gentleman who murdered his heiress-wife and, so legend holds, buried her somewhere in the newly poured San Diego Freeway.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• deposit 
• entomb 
• plant