bury
Americanverb (used with object)
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to put in the ground and cover with earth.
The pirates buried the chest on the island.
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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.
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to plunge in deeply; cause to sink in.
to bury an arrow in a target.
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to cover in order to conceal from sight.
She buried the card in the deck.
- Antonyms:
- uncover
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to immerse (oneself).
He buried himself in his work.
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to put out of one's mind.
to bury an insult.
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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
idioms
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bury the hatchet, to become reconciled or reunited.
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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.
verb
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to place (a corpse) in a grave, usually with funeral rites; inter
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to place in the earth and cover with soil
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to lose through death
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to cover from sight; hide
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to embed; sink
to bury a nail in plaster
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to occupy (oneself) with deep concentration; engross
to be buried in a book
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to dismiss from the mind; abandon
to bury old hatreds
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to cease hostilities and become reconciled
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to refuse to face a problem
noun
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a town in NW England, in Bury unitary authority, Greater Manchester: an early textile centre. Pop: 60 178 (2001)
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a unitary authority in NW England, in Greater Manchester. Pop: 181 900 (2003 est). Area: 99 sq km (38 sq miles)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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burysimple
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buriessimple
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have buriedperfect
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has buriedperfect
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am buryingprogressive
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are buryingprogressive
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is buryingprogressive
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have been buryingperfect progressive
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has been buryingperfect progressive
Past
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buriedsimple
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had buriedperfect
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was buryingprogressive
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were buryingprogressive
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had been buryingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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
Explanation
When you dig a hole in the ground, put an object in the hole, and cover it up with dirt, you bury it. Your dog might prefer spending the majority of his time digging holes to bury his toy collection. You can bury something to hide it, or it can be part of a funeral ritual to bury a person who's died. You could also predict that the coming snow will bury the city, or you might bury your face in your hands if you were feeling dejected. The root of bury is the Proto-Indo-European word bhergh, "to protect or preserve." If you bury your money in the yard, maybe you're trying to protect it from thieves.
Vocabulary lists containing bury
"Eleven"
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List 5
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"Mysteries of the Ancient Past"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Together, these processes erase or bury many ancient impact craters.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026
Health workers had wanted to bury the victim safely - though this measure has repeatedly faced resistance during the outbreak amid baseless claims that Ebola is not real.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
Deaths from Venezuela's devastating twin earthquakes rose to at least 3,342 on Sunday as officials began to bury dozens of bodies left unidentified 11 days after the disaster.
From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026
The other way—as chosen by this court—is to close those sessions and bury the audio for months.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
Imogene said he stayed home to bury the snake, and she had this messy scribbled-up note that said, “Leroy is absent at a funeral.”
From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson
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A genetic study of 132 people buried in a large megalithic tomb near Bury, about 50 kilometers north of Paris, has uncovered evidence of a dramatic population collapse and replacement during the Stone Age.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 8, 2026
Bury got into a kayak but there were no oars nearby to help him paddle, he told the station.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
Mark Cordell, CEO of Our Bury St Edmunds BID, hoped so, but said it did not necessarily work out that way the last time the club went up.
From BBC ● May 6, 2026
A new study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution examines the remains of 132 individuals buried in a large megalithic tomb near Bury, about 50 kilometers north of Paris.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 22, 2026
Bury the feet that I’m standing at my mother’s grave after she left me in the world to fend for myself.
From "The Boy in the Black Suit" by Jason Reynolds
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Dozens of crumbling buildings in Venezuela's decimated earthquake zone bear a spray-painted letter 'D' -- a sign that buries any hope of finding life beneath the rubble.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
A revamped Rose Garden that buries the past and statues that diminish what the people they depict stood for.
From Slate ● May 18, 2026
Tempering democratic rhetoric with aristocratic restraint, he rises above the divisions of debate to deliver the funeral oration when Athens buries its dead sons in the war’s first winter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
When the Civil Defence buries its own, where possible the vests of the dead are laid on their bodies.
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2025
Chain half buries us, but we barely notice.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
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Carrie Bart walked past it all hunched over a twin stroller with her head buried in her phone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
He’s now buried right next to a baby girl who died at 4 months and had, until his burial, lain in the cemetery alone without anyone by her side.
From Slate ● Jul. 19, 2026
The cause can be hidden or buried, says Dr Itamar Shatz, a lecturer at Cambridge University who is publishing a book on the subject this week.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Shortly after Max’s trial ended, Anna and Tom got married, Anna got sober, and both buried a few secrets.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
When I finished one piece, I buried it and waited for Adek to give me a signal.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
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"I just came from burying my father and mother, and I came here to rescue my sister," she said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
After James and his wife had difficulty conceiving, he had what he describes as an "ostrich moment"; months of burying his head in the sand while his partner went through all the checks and tests.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
Even the U.N.’s assessment of how to deal with the threat of climate change continues to pin hope on capturing tremendous amounts of carbon pollution and burying it in the Earth.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2026
Many carbon-removal startups have sprung up, trying everything from spreading carbon-absorbing rock on fields to burying waste—to the point that Frontier now wants to concentrate its bets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
After burying him, a cross was placed by his head.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.