4 → see also burst
bury ◆◇◇ /be ri/ (buries , burying , buried )
1 VERB To bury something means to put it into a hole in the ground and cover it up with earth. □ [V n prep/adv] They make the charcoal by burying wood in the ground and then slowly burning it. □ [V n] …squirrels who bury nuts and seeds. □ [V -ed] …buried treasure.
2 VERB To bury a dead person means to put their body into a grave and cover it with earth. □ [V n] …soldiers who helped to bury the dead in large communal graves. □ [V n adj] I was horrified that people would think I was dead and bury me alive. □ [V -ed] More than 9,000 men lie buried here.
3 VERB If someone says they have buried one of their relatives, they mean that one of their relatives has died. □ [V n] He had buried his wife some two years before he retired.
4 VERB If you bury something under a large quantity of things, you put it there, often in order to hide it. □ [be V -ed prep/adv] I was looking for my handbag, which was buried under a pile of old newspapers.
5 VERB If something buries a place or person, it falls on top of them so that it completely covers them and often harms them in some way. □ [V n] Latest reports say that mud slides buried entire villages. □ [V -ed] He was buried under the debris for several hours.
6 VERB If you bury your head or face in something, you press your head or face against it, often because you are unhappy. □ [V n prep/adv] She buried her face in the pillows.
7 VERB If something buries itself somewhere, or if you bury it there, it is pushed very deeply in there. □ [V pron-refl prep/adv] The missile buried itself deep in the grassy hillside. □ [V -ed] He stood on the sidewalk with his hands buried in the pockets of his dark overcoat. [Also V n prep/adv]
8 to bury the hatchet → see hatchet
bus ◆◇◇ /bʌ s/ (buses , busses , bussing , bussed ) The plural form of the noun is buses . The third person singular of the verb is busses . American English uses the spellings buses , busing , bused for the verb. 1 N‑COUNT [oft by N ] A bus is a large motor vehicle which carries passengers from one place to another. Buses drive along particular routes, and you have to pay to travel in them. □ He missed his last bus home. □ They had to travel everywhere by bus.
2 VERB When someone is bussed to a particular place or when they bus there, they travel there on a bus. □ [be V -ed adv/prep] Students from around the country are being bussed in for the protest. □ [V adv/prep] To get our Colombian visas we bussed back to Medellin. □ [V -ed] Essential services were provided by Serbian workers bussed in from outside the province.
3 VERB [usu passive] In some parts of the United States, when children are bused to school, they are transported by bus to a school in a different area so that children of different races can be educated together. □ [be V -ed adv/prep] Many schools were in danger of closing because the children were bused out to other areas. ● bus|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ The courts ordered busing to desegregate the schools.
bu s boy (bus boys ) N‑COUNT A bus boy is someone whose job is to set or clear tables in a restaurant. [AM ]
bush /bʊ ʃ/ (bushes )
1 N‑COUNT A bush is a large plant which is smaller than a tree and has a lot of branches. □ Trees and bushes grew down to the water's edge.
2 N‑SING [oft N n] The wild, uncultivated parts of some hot countries are referred to as the bush . □ They walked through the dense Mozambican bush for thirty six hours.
3 PHRASE If you tell someone not to beat about the bush , you mean that you want them to tell you something immediately and quickly, rather than in a complicated, indirect way. □ Stop beating about the bush. What's he done?
bushed /bʊ ʃt/ ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If you say that you are bushed , you mean that you are extremely tired. [INFORMAL ] □ I'm bushed. I'm going to bed.
bush|el /bʊ ʃ ə l/ (bushels ) N‑COUNT A bushel is a unit of volume that is used for measuring agricultural produce such as corn or beans. A bushel is equivalent in volume to eight gallons.
Bush|man /bʊ ʃmæn/ (Bushmen ) N‑COUNT A Bushman is an aboriginal person from the southwestern part of Africa, especially the Kalahari desert region.
bushy /bʊ ʃi/ (bushier , bushiest )
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Bushy hair or fur is very thick. □ …bushy eyebrows. □ …a bushy tail.
2 ADJ A bushy plant has a lot of leaves very close together. □ …strong, sturdy, bushy plants.
busi|ly /b I z I li/ ADV [ADV with v] If you do something busily , you do it in a very active way. □ The two saleswomen were busily trying to keep up with the demand.
busi|ness ◆◆◆ /b I zn I s/ (businesses )
1 N‑UNCOUNT Business is work relating to the production, buying, and selling of goods or services. □ …young people seeking a career in business. □ Jennifer has an impressive academic and business background. □ …Harvard Business School.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Business is used when talking about how many products or services a company is able to sell. If business is good, a lot of products or services are being sold and if business is bad, few of them are being sold. □ They worried that German companies would lose business. □ Business is booming.