Phrase guide

bury one's head in the sand

verb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

verb

Meaning 1

To deliberately ignore the reality of a situation; to pretend a problem does not exist.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

A reference to the imagined habit of the ostrich burying its head when threatened. See also head in the sand.

Across languages

Translations

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 採取鴕鳥政策 /采取鸵鸟政策 (cǎiqǔ tuóniǎo zhèngcè) — to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation
  • Dutch: de kop in het zand steken — to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation
  • Finnish: pistää päänsä pensaaseen — to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation
  • French: faire l'autruche — to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation
  • French: se voiler la face — to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation
  • German: den Kopf in den Sand stecken — to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation
  • Hebrew: טָמַן רֹאשׁוֹ בַּחוֹל (tamán roshó baḥól) — to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation
  • Hungarian: homokba dugja a fejét — to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation
  • Italian: nascondere la testa sotto la sabbia — to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation
  • Italian: fare finta di niente — to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation
  • Italian: fare come lo struzzo — to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation
  • Korean: 눈 가리고 아웅 (nun garigo aung) — to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation
  • Norwegian Bokmål: stikke hodet i sanden — to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation
  • Norwegian Bokmål: strutse — to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation
  • Polish: chować głowę w piasek — to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation
  • Polish: schować głowę w piasek — to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation
  • Romanian: se ascunde după deget — to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation
  • Russian: пря́тать го́лову в песо́к (prjátatʹ gólovu v pesók) — to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation
  • Spanish: tapar el sol con un dedo — to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation
  • Swedish: sticka huvudet i sanden — to deliberately ignore the reality of a situation