bury

[ ber-ee ]

/ ˈbɛr i /

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See synonyms for: bury / buried / burying 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).

OTHER WORDS FOR bury

2 inter, entomb, inhume.

4 hide, secrete.

See synonyms for bury on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR bury

2 disinter, exhume.

4 uncover.

See antonyms for bury on Thesaurus.com

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Idioms about bury

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

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

OTHER WORDS FROM bury

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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH bury

berry, bury

Words nearby bury

Buru, Burundi, Burundian, Burushaski, burweed, bury, Buryat, Buryat Republic, burying beetle, burying ground, bury one's head in the sand

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bury in a sentence

Then they intended to bury her, but she looked more alive than dead, and she still had such pretty red cheeks.
In New Brothers Grimm 'Snow White', The Prince Doesn't Save Her|The Brothers Grimm|November 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the special, Workman plays the old man who, as a cabin boy, watched the pirates bury their treasure.
Garfield Television: The Cat Who Saved Primetime Cartoons|Rich Goldstein|November 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Us is me and Gus, driving our bus across the land; when we die, just bury us together, hand in hand.
Well, La Ti Da: Stephin Merritt’s Winning Little Words of Scrabble|David Bukszpan|October 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The landscape looks something like the marsh behind the Toys ‘R’ Us where Tony Soprano might bury a body in Jersey.
Our Trip to The Climate War's Ground Zero|Darren Aronofsky|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Just days before, the officer told him, 19 bodies of Ebola victims were left lying outside with few men to bury them.
CDC: 'Window Is Closing' on Containing Ebola|Abby Haglage|September 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If they are still Moderns and alive, I defy you to bury them if you are discussing living questions in a full and honest way.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
The swift breeze seemed to Edna to bury the sting of it into the pores of her face and hands.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Two years before her death Mrs. Otis was glad to bury her mortification and misery in Rosewater.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
Meanwhile Benny looked on with great delight as Watch tried to bury his bone with only one paw to dig with.
The Box-Car Children|Gertrude Chandler Warner
Since the number of casualties was extremely high during this battle, Jackson allowed Banks to bury his dead the following day.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia|Dorothy M. Torpey

British Dictionary definitions for bury (1 of 2)

bury

/ (ˈbɛrɪ) /

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

British Dictionary definitions for bury (2 of 2)

Bury

/ (ˈbɛrɪ) /

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)

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

bury

OTHER WORDS FOR bury

OPPOSITES FOR bury

Idioms about bury

Origin of bury

OTHER WORDS FROM bury

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH bury

Words nearby bury

Words related to bury

How to use bury in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bury (1 of 2)

Word Origin for bury

British Dictionary definitions for bury (2 of 2)