bury
bury — verb
1. to put the body of a person who has died into the earth for a funeral.
to put the body of a person who has died into the earth for a funeral.
Villagers buried the fisherman beside his parents after the church service.
bury + person + beside + place
After the service, relatives buried Aunt Rosa in the village graveyard.
The soldiers buried their captain with drums and flags at sunset.
Mei buried her grandfather in the graveyard on the hill.
- bury the dead
- bury a parent
- bury someone in the graveyard
- bury someone beside family
- inter
formal and mostly used in writing or ceremonial contexts
- lay to rest
gentler phrase often used at funerals
- exhume
formal; to take a body out of the ground again
Grammar Patterns
bury + person + in + place
bury + person + beside + place
Usage Note
Object is usually a dead person or the body of someone who has died. Distinguish from sense 2, where the buried thing is an object rather than a person.
2. to hide or store an object by digging a hole, putting it there, and covering it
to hide or store an object by digging a hole, putting it there, and covering it with soil.
Noa buried the key under the lemon tree after the storm.
bury + object + under + place
The children buried a metal box of letters behind the school wall.
The gardener buried the water pipe beside the path before planting grass.
Priya buried the spare coins in a tin behind the shed.
- bury a key
- bury coins
- bury a box
- bury something under a tree
Grammar Patterns
bury + object + under + place
bury + object + in + the ground
Usage Note
The object is usually a thing such as money, a box, or a tool, and the sentence often adds a place phrase with 'in' or 'under'. Distinguish from sense 4, which hides something from view without necessarily putting it in the ground.
Common Mistakes
3. to completely cover a person or thing under a thick mass of something.
to completely cover a person or thing under a thick mass of something.
By morning, snow had buried the cars along our street.
bury + thing + in natural material
Falling rocks buried the road after the mountain storm.
A second wave buried Yusuf under wet sand and shells.
In the kitchen drawer, old bills were buried under three thick cookbooks.
passive: be buried under + quantity
- bury under snow
- bury in sand
- bury the road
- be buried under papers
Grammar Patterns
bury + person/thing + in + substance
be buried under + quantity
Usage Note
Commonly passive with 'under' or active with a large mass such as snow, sand, rocks, or papers as the subject. Distinguish from sense 4, which focuses on hiding something from sight rather than overwhelming it with quantity.
4. to hide a physical thing by covering it or placing it where people will not noti
to hide a physical thing by covering it or placing it where people will not notice it.
Ravi buried the letter under a pile of clean towels.
bury + object + under + covering
Greta buried the spare phone inside a box of winter coats.
The path sign was buried under posters on the station wall.
passive: be buried under + visual cover
Omar buried the cash under winter blankets on the top closet shelf.
- bury a letter
- bury cash
- bury something under towels
- bury a sign under posters
Grammar Patterns
bury + object + under + thing
bury + object + in + container/place
be buried under + covering
Usage Note
Object is a physical thing that can be seen, touched, or found. Distinguish from sense 5, where what is hidden is news, blame, or another fact.
5. to keep news, blame, or another unwelcome fact from becoming known.
to keep news, blame, or another unwelcome fact from becoming known.
The company buried the safety report until local papers asked questions.
bury + report/news to stop attention
Editors buried the story on page twelve after the election.
Officials buried the mistake before parents heard about it.
The mayor buried the complaint in a stack of meeting papers.
- bury a report
- bury bad news
- bury a complaint
- bury a story
Grammar Patterns
bury + report/story/news
bury + mistake/complaint
Usage Note
Object is usually information such as a report, story, complaint, or mistake. Common in politics, journalism, and workplace situations. Distinguish from sense 4, which hides physical objects.
Common Mistakes
6. to force a painful feeling, memory, or mistake out of attention instead of deali
to force a painful feeling, memory, or mistake out of attention instead of dealing with it openly.
Priya buried her anger and finished the meeting in silence.
bury + feeling noun
After the crash, Omar buried the memory in long hours of work.
bury + memory
After forgetting her lines, Mei buried her shame and sat down quickly.
The family buried their grief while guests filled the small apartment.
Rather than apologize, Diego buried the mistake under loud jokes at dinner.
bury + mistake under + behaviour
- bury your anger
- bury the memory
- bury your grief
- bury a mistake
Grammar Patterns
bury + feeling / memory / mistake
bury + object + under + behaviour
Usage Note
Object is usually an emotion, memory, or embarrassing fact. Distinguish from sense 5 (KEEP SECRET): that sense is about stopping other people from learning something, while this one is often about shutting it away in your own mind.
Common Mistakes
7. to press a body part or object so deep into something soft that part of it disap
to press a body part or object so deep into something soft that part of it disappears inside.
Leila buried her face in the warm towel after the swim.
bury + body part + in + noun
The child buried both hands in the rice bucket and laughed.
Ravi buried the spoon deep in the ice cream tub.
bury + object + deep in + noun
During the storm, the dog buried its nose in Amara's coat.
At the clinic, Noa buried her fingers in the foam ball during the injection.
- bury your face in
- bury your nose in
- bury your hands in
- bury the spoon deep in
Grammar Patterns
bury + body part + in + noun
bury + object + deep in + noun
Usage Note
Often used with body parts such as face, nose, hands, or fingers. Distinguish from senses 1 to 3, where something is covered by earth or another substance; here the focus is on pushing something far inside.
Common Mistakes
8. if you bury a family member or friend, you live long enough to see that person d
if you bury a family member or friend, you live long enough to see that person die.
No mother should bury a son, the priest said quietly.
bury + family member for outliving someone
Hector buried both brothers before he turned fifty.
My aunt buried her husband after a short illness.
By eighty, Grandfather had buried nearly all his old friends.
- bury a child
- bury a husband
- bury a brother
- bury old friends
Grammar Patterns
bury + family member
bury + friend
Usage Note
Usually found with close relationships such as child, husband, brother, or friend. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense stresses that you outlived the person, not the funeral act itself.
Common Mistakes
9. to strike the ball so cleanly and hard that it goes into the goal.
to strike the ball so cleanly and hard that it goes into the goal.
Zane buried the penalty kick low inside the left corner.
bury + penalty kick
In the final minute, Hana buried the ball past the keeper.
bury + the ball
The striker buried a rebound after the wet ball slipped free.
From twenty yards out, Tomas buried the shot under the bar.
bury + shot
Our captain buried the free kick in the top corner from thirty yards.
bury + free kick
- bury the penalty
- bury the shot
- bury a rebound
- bury the ball
Grammar Patterns
bury + the ball + in the net
bury + penalty / shot / rebound
Usage Note
Object is usually a ball, shot, penalty, or rebound. Common in excited match talk and reports, especially when the finish is strong and decisive rather than soft or accidental.
Common Mistakes
bury yourself in
phrasal verbTo give all your attention to something, especially work or study.
After the breakup, Diego buried himself in his research.
She buried herself in books to prepare for the exam.
To end a disagreement and become friendly again.
After years of fighting, the two neighbors finally buried the hatchet.
Can you and your sister bury your differences for the holiday dinner?
To ignore a problem instead of dealing with it.
Maya buried her head in the sand when the bills arrived.
Stop hiding your head in the sand and talk to your boss about the issue.
bury the lede/lead
idiomTo not give enough attention to the most important part of a story.
The reporter buried the lede by starting with minor details.
Don't bury the lead; tell us the main news first.
Word family
- burialnounB2
- buriedadjectiveB2
Synonym discussion
Sense: verb/1
'Bury' is the normal everyday verb when a dead person is put into the ground. 'Inter' means nearly the same thing, but it is formal and appears more in notices, history writing, or ceremonial speech. 'Entomb' is narrower: it suggests placing the body in a tomb rather than directly in the earth, and it often sounds grand or literary. 'Lay to rest' is gentler and more emotional, so it is common when people want respectful wording at a funeral. Because of that, a news report may say someone was buried on Tuesday, a memorial stone may say interred, a history book may describe a king as entombed, and a family member may say they laid their mother to rest.
Common collocations
Phrases
- be buried in
- be buried under
- bury something deep in
Prepositions
- bury in
- bury under
- bury beneath
Etymology
Bury comes from Old English 'byrgan' or 'byrgian', a verb used for putting a dead person into the ground and for covering or hiding something. That older verb came from an earlier Germanic family linked with the ideas of sheltering, protecting, or keeping something out of sight. Modern English still shows both lines of meaning: the oldest funeral sense, and later uses about hiding objects, covering things completely, or pushing feelings out of view.