berry and bury are homophones: they are pronounced identically and spelled differently, which is why they are so often swapped. berry means “any of numerous small and pulpy edible fruits; used as desserts or in making jams and jellies and preserves”. bury means “cover from sight”. bury is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈbɛɹi/
1.n.any of numerous small and pulpy edible fruits; used as desserts or in making jams and jellies and preserves
2.n.a small fruit having any of various structures, e.g., simple (grape or blueberry) or aggregate (blackberry or raspberry)
3.n.United States rock singer (born in 1931)
| berry | bury | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈbɛɹi/ | /ˈbɛɹi/ |
| Said | BER-ee | BER-ee |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| Letters | 5 | 4 |
| Parts of speech | noun, verb | verb |
| Senses | 4 | 6 |
| How common | Familiar | Common |
| Synonyms | none recorded | none recorded |
Full entry for berry · Full entry for bury · More comparisons
/ˈbɛɹi/
1.v.cover from sight
“Afghani women buried under their burkas”
2.v.place in a grave or tomb
“Stalin was buried behind the Kremlin wall on Red Square”
3.v.place in the earth and cover with soil
“They buried the stolen goods”