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.
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.
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.
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.
10.
bury the hatchet, to become reconciled or reunited.
[Origin: bef. 1000; ME berien, buryen, OE byrgan to bury, conceal; akin to OE beorgan to hide, protect, preserve; c. D, G bergen, Goth bairgan, ON bjarga]
To place (a corpse) in a grave, a tomb, or the sea; inter.
To dispose of (a corpse) ritualistically by means other than interment or cremation.
To conceal by or as if by covering over with earth; hide: buried her face in the pillow; buried the secret deep within himself.
To occupy (oneself) with deep concentration; absorb: buried myself in my studies.
To put an end to; abandon: buried their quarrel and shook hands.
[Middle English burien, from Old English byrgan; see bhergh-1 in Indo-European roots.]
bur'i·er n.
Word History: Why does bury rhyme with berry and not with jury? The answer goes back to early English times. The late Old English form of the verb bury was byrgan, pronounced approximately (bür'yən). During Middle English times this (ü) sound changed, but with different results in different regions of England: to (ŏŏ) as in put in the Midlands, to (ĭ) as in pit in southern England, or to (ě) as in pet in southeast England. London is located in the East Midlands, but because of its central location and its status as the capital, its East Midlands dialect was influenced by southern (Saxon) and southeastern (Kentish) dialects. The normal East Midlands development of (ü) was (ŏŏ), spelled u. Because scribes from the East Midlands pronounced the word with this vowel they tended to spell the word with a u, and this spelling became standard when spellings were fixed after the introduction of printing. The word's pronunciation, however, is southeastern. Bury is the only word in Modern English with a Midlands spelling and a southeastern pronunciation. Similarly, the word busy, from Old English bysig, bisig, and its verb bysgian, bisgian, "to employ," is spelled with the East Midlands dialect u, but pronounced with the southern (Saxon) development of (ü), (ĭ).
Bur·yAudio Help (běr'ē) Pronunciation Key
A borough of northwest England north-northwest of Manchester. It was founded on the site of a Saxon settlement and has been a textile center since the 14th century. Population: 60,700.
O.E. byrgan, akin to beorgan "to shelter," from P.Gmc. *burzjanan "protection, shelter" (cf. O.N. bjarga, Sw. berga, Ger. bergen, Goth. bairgan), from PIE base *bhergh- "protect, preserve" (cf. O.C.S. brego "I preserve, guard"). The O.E. -y- was a short "oo" sound, like modern Fr. -u-. It normally transformed into Mod.Eng. -i- (cf. bridge, kiss, listen, sister), but in bury and a few other words (merry, knell) it retains a Kentish change to "e" that took place in the late O.E. period. In the West Midlands, meanwhile, the O.E. -y- sound persisted, slightly modified over time, giving the standard modern pronunciation of blush, much, church.
cover from sight; "Afghani women buried under their burkas"
2.
place in a grave or tomb; "Stalin was buried behind the Kremlin wall on Red Square"; "The pharaohs were entombed in the pyramids"; "My grandfather was laid to rest last Sunday"
3.
place in the earth and cover with soil; "They buried the stolen goods"
4.
enclose or envelop completely, as if by swallowing; "The huge waves swallowed the small boat and it sank shortly thereafter" [syn: immerse]
5.
embed deeply; "She sank her fingers into the soft sand"; "He buried his head in her lap"
6.
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering; "I tried to bury these unpleasant memories" [syn: forget] [ant: remember]
Bor"ough\, n. [OE. burgh, burw, boru, port, town, burrow, AS. burh, burg; akin to Icel., Sw., & Dan. borg, OS. & D. burg, OHG. puruc, purc, MHG. burc, G. burg, Goth. ba['u]rgs; and from the root of AS. beorgan to hide, save, defend, G. bergen; or perh. from that of AS. beorg hill, mountain. [root]95. See Bury, v. t., and cf. Burrow, Burg, Bury, n., Burgess, Iceberg, Borrow, Harbor, Hauberk.]1. In England, an incorporated town that is not a city; also, a town that sends members to parliament; in Scotland, a body corporate, consisting of the inhabitants of a certain district, erected by the sovereign, with a certain jurisdiction; in America, an incorporated town or village, as in Pennsylvania and Connecticut. --Burrill. Erskine. 2. The collective body of citizens or inhabitants of a borough; as, the borough voted to lay a tax. Close borough, or Pocket borough, a borough having the right of sending a member to Parliament, whose nomination is in the hands of a single person. Rotten borough, a name given to any borough which, at the time of the passage of the Reform Bill of 1832, contained but few voters, yet retained the privilege of sending a member to Parliament.
Bor"ough\, n. [OE. burgh, burw, boru, port, town, burrow, AS. burh, burg; akin to Icel., Sw., & Dan. borg, OS. & D. burg, OHG. puruc, purc, MHG. burc, G. burg, Goth. ba['u]rgs; and from the root of AS. beorgan to hide, save, defend, G. bergen; or perh. from that of AS. beorg hill, mountain. [root]95. See Bury, v. t., and cf. Burrow, Burg, Bury, n., Burgess, Iceberg, Borrow, Harbor, Hauberk.]1. In England, an incorporated town that is not a city; also, a town that sends members to parliament; in Scotland, a body corporate, consisting of the inhabitants of a certain district, erected by the sovereign, with a certain jurisdiction; in America, an incorporated town or village, as in Pennsylvania and Connecticut. --Burrill. Erskine. 2. The collective body of citizens or inhabitants of a borough; as, the borough voted to lay a tax. Close borough, or Pocket borough, a borough having the right of sending a member to Parliament, whose nomination is in the hands of a single person. Rotten borough, a name given to any borough which, at the time of the passage of the Reform Bill of 1832, contained but few voters, yet retained the privilege of sending a member to Parliament.
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Audio Help [ber-ee] Pronunciation Key verb, bur·ied, bur·y·ing, noun, plural bur·ies. 
