Meaning & use
burying
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“burying” is a form of “bury”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Putting a dead person or animal into the ground, usually in a ceremony.
Grammar: Takes an object: they are burying their grandfather today.
Patterns
- burying someone
- burying someone in somewhere
The family is burying their grandmother on Saturday.
We spent the afternoon burying our old dog in the garden.
They were burying the king in the cathedral.
verbtransitive
Covering something completely, or hiding it, by putting it under earth, sand or other material.
Grammar: Takes an object, often with in or under: burying the treasure in the sand.
Patterns
- burying something in something
- burying something under something
The children are burying each other in the sand.
He kept burying his keys under the pile of papers.
Squirrels are burying nuts for the winter.
verbtransitivefigurative
Putting something out of sight or mind, such as a feeling or a piece of news.
Grammar: Used figuratively with abstract objects: burying bad news.
Patterns
- burying yourself in something
- burying a feeling
She is burying herself in work to forget the argument.
The company was accused of burying the bad results in a long report.
He kept burying his anger instead of talking about it.
Word forms
| base form | bury |
|---|---|
| third person singular | buries |
| past tense | buried |
| past participle | buried |
Common combinations
- burying the hatchet
- The two neighbors are finally burying the hatchet.
- burying your head in the sand
- Burying your head in the sand will not solve the problem.
- burying the dead
- The villagers were burying the dead after the flood.
- burying yourself in work
- He is burying himself in work to avoid thinking.
- burying treasure
- The pirates in the story were burying treasure on the island.
Synonyms and how they differ
- interring
- Interring is a formal word used only for placing a body in a grave, while burying is also used for objects.
- hiding
- Hiding means keeping something out of sight in any way, but burying specifically suggests covering it with earth or material.
- covering
- Covering is a broader word and does not imply that something is placed deep or out of reach.
- planting
- Planting is used for seeds or plants that will grow, whereas burying suggests the thing is meant to stay hidden.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: burying or berry?
burying vs berry
A berry is a small fruit. It is pronounced the same as the first part of bury, but the spelling and meaning are different.
Practice
The dog spent the morning ___ a bone in the yard.
Choose one answer.
Burying is the -ing form that takes an object (a bone). Burrowing does not take an object in this way, buring is misspelled, and buried is not an -ing form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “burying”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.