Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense buries, present participle burying, past tense, past participle buried
1. verb
To bury something means to put it into a hole in the ground and cover it up with earth.
They make the charcoal by burying wood in the ground and then slowly burning it. [VERB noun preposition/adverb]
...squirrels who bury nuts and seeds. [VERB noun]
...buried treasure. [VERB-ed]
2. verb
To bury a dead person means to put their body into a grave and cover it with earth.
They buried the dead in a communal grave. [VERB noun]
I was horrified that people would think I was dead and bury me alive. [VERB noun adjective]
More than 9,000 men lie buried here. [VERB-ed]
Synonyms: inter, lay to rest, entomb, sepulchre More Synonyms of bury
3. verb
If someone says they have buried one of their relatives, they mean that one of their relatives has died.
He had buried his wife some two years before he retired. [VERB noun]
4. verb
If you bury something under a large quantity of things, you put it there, often in order to hide it.
She buried it under some leaves. [VERB noun preposition/adverb]
I was looking for my handbag, which was buried under a pile of old newspapers. [beVERB-ed preposition/adverb]
Synonyms: hide, cover, conceal, stash [informal] More Synonyms of bury
5. verb
If something buries a place or person, it falls on top of them so that it completely covers them and often harms them in some way.
Latest reports say that mud slides buried entire villages. [VERB noun]
Their house was buried by a landslide. [VERB noun]
He was buried under the debris for several hours. [VERB-ed]
6. verb
If you bury your head or face in something, you press your head or face against it, often because you are unhappy.
She buried her face in the pillows. [VERB noun preposition/adverb]
He held her closely, burying his head against her shoulder. [VERB noun preposition/adverb]
Synonyms: sink, embed, immerse, enfold More Synonyms of bury
7. verb
If something buriesitself somewhere, or if you bury it there, it is pushed very deeply in there.
The missile buried itself deep in the grassy hillside. [VERB pronoun-reflexive preposition/adverb]
He stood on the sidewalk with his hands buried in the pockets of his dark overcoat. [VERB-ed]
[Also VERB noun preposition/adverb]
Synonyms: embed, sink, implant, drive in More Synonyms of bury
8. verb
If you bury a feeling, you try not to show it. If you bury a memory, you try to forget it.
[written]
When we feel anger, we bury the emotion and feel guilty instead. [VERB noun]
It is time to bury our past misunderstandings. [VERB noun]
...deeply-buried memories. [VERB-ed]
Synonyms: forget, break with, draw a veil over, think no more of More Synonyms of bury
9. verb
If you buryyourselfin a place or in an activity such as your work, you spend all your time in that place or doing that activity, usually because you want to forget about things.
His reaction was to withdraw, to bury himself in work. [V pron-refl in n]
...the popular image of writers burying themselves in the country in order to write. [V pron-refl in n]
Synonyms: engross, involve, occupy, interest More Synonyms of bury
10. verb
If you bury your head in something such as a book or newspaper, or buryyourself in it, you look at it closely and concentrate very hard on it.
My father buried his head in his newspaper. [V n in n]
He buried himself in his detective story again. [V pron-refl in n]
11. to bury the hatchet
bury in British English
(ˈbɛrɪ)
verbWord forms: buries, burying or buried(transitive)
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. bury the hatchet
9. bury one's head in the sand
Word origin
Old English byrgan to bury, hide; related to Old Norse bjarga to save, preserve, Old English beorgan to defend
Bury in British English
(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)
Bury in American English
(ˈbɛri)
city in Greater Manchester, NW England: county district pop. 177,000
bury in American English
(ˈbɛri)
verb transitiveWord forms: ˈburied or ˈburying
1.
to put (a dead body) into the earth, a tomb, or the sea, usually in a ceremonial manner; inter
2.
a.
to hide (something) in the ground
b.
to cover up so as to conceal
she buried her face in the pillow
3.
to put away, as from one's life, mind, etc.
to bury a feud
4.
to put (oneself) deeply into; plunge; immerse
to bury oneself in one's work
SIMILAR WORDS: hide
Word origin
ME birien < OE byrgan, akin to beorgan, to shelter < IE base *bhergh-, protect, preserve > Ger bergen, protect, Pol bróg, barn
More idioms containing
bury
bury your head in the sand
bury the hatchet
Examples of 'bury' in a sentence
bury
The women there buried their head in their work.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
For years the previous government and the last mayor buried their heads in the sand while the situation got worse.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Not all of these museums are dead and buried - or so optimists hope.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Buried deep within their tissue and fibres lie the reasons for your weight gain and energy slumps, your height loss and declining health.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
For the next few years I buried my head in the sand.
The Sun (2016)
The government seems intent on burying its head in the sand.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
We could have been dead and buried.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
One woman said that she had seen her father buried alive by earth while in his truck.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Now is not the time to bury your head in your overflowing inbox.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Childhood memories or emotional stress are often buried behind bedroom walls.
Kretschmann, Gudrun Ten Keys to Loving Relationships (1994)
At least one body was buried deep in the earth by the impact.
The Sun (2012)
The two sides agreed a temporary truce to bury their dead.
Charles Glass The Tribes Triumphant (2006)
It is as if these things have been long buried beneath the earth.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Many victims were buried in mass graves.
The Sun (2007)
Not bury our heads in the desert sands.
The Sun (2014)
The dead were buried in the wastes surrounding the old castle.
Diane Purkiss The English Civil War: A People's History (2006)
The money is grabbed by brokers charging for loan applications under terms often buried in the small print.
The Sun (2014)
To sleep, the snake must bury its face in the folds of its body.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
In other languages
bury
British English: bury /ˈbɛrɪ/ VERB
If you bury something, you put it into a hole in the ground and cover it up, often in order to hide it.
The squirrels buried the seeds.
American English: bury
Arabic: يَدْفِن
Brazilian Portuguese: enterrar
Chinese: 掩埋
Croatian: pokopati
Czech: pohřbít
Danish: begrave
Dutch: begraven
European Spanish: enterrar
Finnish: haudata
French: enterrer
German: begraben
Greek: θάβω
Italian: sotterrare
Japanese: 埋葬する
Korean: 파묻다
Norwegian: begrave
Polish: zakopać
European Portuguese: enterrar
Romanian: a îngropa
Russian: хоронить
Latin American Spanish: enterrar
Swedish: begrava
Thai: ฝัง
Turkish: gömmek
Ukrainian: ховати
Vietnamese: chôn
All related terms of 'bury'
bury memories
A memory is something that you remember from the past.
Bury St Edmunds
a market town in E England, in Suffolk . Pop: 36 218 (2001)
bury the hatchet
to agree to forget a quarrel and become friends again
to bury the hatchet
If two people bury the hatchet , they become friendly again after a quarrel or disagreement .
bury your head in the sand
to deliberately refuse to accept the truth about something unpleasant
bury one's head in the sand
to refuse to face a problem
Chinese translation of 'bury'
bury
(ˈbɛrɪ)
vt
(in ground) 掩埋 (yǎnmái)
[dead person]埋葬 (máizàng)
(fig, under rubble, debris) 埋 (mái)
to bury oneself in one's work埋头(頭)工作 (máitóu gōngzuò)
to bury one's face in one's hands双(雙)手掩面 (shuāngshǒu yǎnmiàn)
to bury one's head in the sand逃避现(現)实(實) (táobì xiànshí)
to bury the hatchet言归(歸)于(於)好 (yán guī yú hǎo)
1 (verb)
Definition
to place (a corpse) in a grave
soldiers who helped to bury the dead
Synonyms
inter
the spot where his bones were originally interred
lay to rest
entomb
He was entombed here in this crypt alongside his predecessors.
sepulchre
consign to the grave
inearth
inhume
inurn
Opposites
unearth
,
dig up
,
exhume
,
disinter
,
turn up
,
dredge up
2 (verb)
Definition
to cover (something) from sight
She buried it under some leaves.
Synonyms
hide
The compound was hidden by trees and shrubs.
cover
the black patch which covered his left eye
conceal
The device, concealed in a dustbin, was defused by police.
stash (informal)
He had stashed money away in secret offshore bank accounts.
secrete
She secreted the gun in the kitchen cabinet.
cache
stow away
Opposites
find
,
reveal
,
discover
,
expose
,
turn up
,
uncover
,
dredge up
,
bring to light
3 (verb)
She buried her face in the pillows.
Synonyms
sink
embed
immerse
The electrodes are immersed in liquid.
enfold
Wood was comfortably enfolded in a woolly dressing-gown.
4 (verb)
The missile buried itself deep in the grassy hillside.
Synonyms
embed
The fossils are embedded in hard sandstone.
sink
The boat was beginning to sink fast.
implant
Doctors implanted an artificial heart into the 46-year-old man.
drive in
submerge
Just as I shot at it, the crocodile submerged again.
5 (verb)
Definition
to dismiss (a feeling) from the mind
It is time to bury our past misunderstandings.
Synonyms
forget
I can't forget what happened today.
break with
draw a veil over
think no more of
consign to oblivion
put in the past
not give another thought to
6 (verb)
Definition
to occupy (oneself) with deep concentration
His reaction was to withdraw, to bury himself in work.
Synonyms
engross
There's something about them which engrosses the public.
involve
occupy
I had other matters to occupy me that day.
interest
This part of the book interests me in particular.
busy
engage
She tried to engage me in conversation.
absorb
a second career which absorbed her more completely than acting ever had
preoccupy
a question that continues to preoccupy the more serious papers
immerse
I was able to immerse myself in family life.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of absorb
Definition
to engage the interest of someone
a second career which absorbed her more completely than acting ever had
Synonyms
engross,
hold,
involve,
fill,
arrest,
fix,
occupy,
engage,
fascinate,
preoccupy,
engulf,
fill up,
immerse,
rivet,
captivate,
monopolize,
enwrap
in the sense of conceal
Definition
to cover and hide
The device, concealed in a dustbin, was defused by police.