burry

Meanings

1. 1adjectivecomparablerare

   Covered with burrs, the small, prickly seed cases that cling to clothing and fur.

   Grammar: Describes things caught or covered with burrs: burry wool, a burry coat.

   Patterns

   • burry with something

   The sheep came in from the hill with burry fleeces that took hours to clean.

   Her socks were burry after the walk through the long grass.

   He picked the burry seed heads off his dog's coat.

2. 2adjectivecomparablerare

   Rough or rolling when pronouncing the r sound, as in some rural accents.

   Grammar: Applies to voices and accents, not to people directly: a burry accent.

   The old farmer spoke in a deep, burry voice that rolled every r.

   Her burry West Country accent made the tale sound even warmer.

   The singer's slightly burry tone suited the folk songs.

Word forms

Common combinations

burry wool

The spinner had to pick out the burry wool by hand.

burry fleece

The farmer sold the burry fleece at a lower price.

burry accent

His burry accent gave away that he came from the countryside.

burry coat

The pony's burry coat needed a long grooming.

burry voice

A burry voice read the evening announcements.

Synonyms and how they differ

prickly

Prickly describes anything with sharp points, while burry says specifically that burrs are stuck to it.

bristly

Bristly describes stiff, short hairs, but burry refers to clinging seed cases.

rough

Rough is a general word for an uneven texture or sound, while burry points to burrs or a rolled r.

Opposites

Word family

burr noun

a rough, prickly seed case, or a rolled r sound in speech

bur noun

an alternative spelling of burr

burred adjective

having burrs or a rough edge

burdock noun

a tall weed whose seed heads are covered in burrs

Commonly confused: burry or bury?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “burry”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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