Bury Definition & Meaning

American

British

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms bury American [ber-ee] / ˈbɛr i /

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.

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.

bury 1 British / 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

"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 2 British / 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)

"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

Other Word Forms

• rebury verb (used with object)

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

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.

The killed elephants were later examined by veterinarians and buried.

From BBC

Hadi's body, which was brought to the capital on Friday, was buried at the central mosque of Dhaka University.

From Barron's

"So these events are more difficult to detect, especially when they are older than a few thousand years and after being buried, leave little or no superficial evidence."

From Science Daily

"What is significant about the Twentyshilling remains is that they were cremated and then buried almost immediately," he said.

From BBC

His sister is buried at the nearby cemetery; her memory lives here.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• deposit
• entomb
• plant

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.