bury

[ber-ee]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bury ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), bur·ied, bur·y·ing.

to put in the ground and cover with earth: The pirates buried the chest on the island.

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.

to plunge in deeply; cause to sink in: to bury an arrow in a target.

to cover in order to conceal from sight: She buried the card in the deck.

to immerse (oneself): He buried himself in his work.

to put out of one's mind: to bury an insult.

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 bur·ies.

Nautical. housing¹(def 8a, b).

Idioms

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.

bury the hatchet, to become reconciled or reunited.

Origin of bury

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

Related formshalf-bur·ied, adjectivere·bur·y, verb (used with object), re·bur·ied, re·bur·y·ing.un·bur·ied, adjectivewell-bur·ied, adjective

Can be confusedBarry berry bury

Synonyms for bury

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bury ON THESAURUS.COM

2. inter, entomb, inhume. 4. hide, secrete.

Antonyms for bury

2. disinter, exhume. 4. uncover.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for buried

hidden, wrapped, submerged, obscured, entombed, interred, stuck, absorbed, captive

Examples from the Web for buried

Contemporary Examples of buried

Their bodies were later found incinerated and buried in mass graves outside of town.
Why Mexicans Are Enraged by Obama’s Big Tuesday Meeting
Ruben Navarrette Jr.
January 6, 2015
The procession continued on to the Cypress Hill Cemetery, where Ramos was buried the week before.
Funeral Protest Is Too Much for NYPD Union Boss
Michael Daly
January 5, 2015
In it, Kraven the Hunter tracks down Spider-Man, shoots him repeatedly, and leaves him for dead, buried underground.
Exclusive: Sony Hack Reveals Studio's Detailed Plans For Another ‘Spider-Man’ Reboot
William Boot
December 13, 2014
There were rumors that Schmidt was motivated by buried treasure or another secret of the mountain, but they were never proven.
The Mole Man’s Tunnel to Nowhere
Nina Strochlic
November 28, 2014
She will lie in state in Seville and will be buried in a private ceremony attended by her husband and children.
Adiós to the Diva Duchess
Barbie Latza Nadeau
November 20, 2014

Historical Examples of buried

Would you not like to be buried with regal honour, in your native Clazomenæ?
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
To avoid that, if there were no other way, I would most willingly be buried alive.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
As he spoke, George fell into a chair, and buried his face in his hands.
Life in London
Edwin Hodder
Hester threw herself on her knees, and buried her face in her mother's lap.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
In the fifth act King Henry takes on the voice and nature of buried Hotspur.
The Man Shakespeare
Frank Harris

British Dictionary definitions for buried

Bury

noun

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

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

bury

verb buries, burying or buried (tr)

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

to place in the earth and cover with soil

to lose through death

to cover from sight; hide

to embed; sinkto bury a nail in plaster

to occupy (oneself) with deep concentration; engrossto be buried in a book

to dismiss from the mind; abandonto bury old hatreds

bury the hatchet to cease hostilities and become reconciled

bury one's head in the sand to refuse to face a problem

Word Origin for bury

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for buried

bury

Old English byrgan "to raise a mound, hide, bury, inter," akin to beorgan "to shelter," from Proto-Germanic *burzjan- "protection, shelter" (cf. Old Saxon bergan, Dutch bergen, Old Norse bjarga, Swedish berga, Old High German bergan "protect, shelter, conceal," German bergen, Gothic bairgan "to save, preserve"), from PIE root *bhergh- "protect, preserve" (cf. Old Church Slavonic brego "I preserve, guard"). Related: Buried; burying. Burying-ground "cemetery" attested from 1711.

The Old English -y- was a short "oo" sound, like modern French -u-. Under normal circumstances it transformed into Modern English -i- (e.g. bridge, kiss, listen, sister), but in bury and a few other words (e.g. merry, knell) it retained a Kentish change to "e" that took place in the late Old English period. In the West Midlands, meanwhile, the Old English -y- sound persisted, slightly modified over time, giving the standard modern pronunciation of blush, much, church.