To Bury, To Fill
transitive verb, ichidan verb
Because the hiragana ends with an う sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means bury so the verb vocab version is to bury as well. 埋める can also mean to fill, and can refer to filling a hole, vacancy, or gap. Note that this word can be used to refer to filling in figurative holes and gaps too, like a hole in one’s finances!
うめる, うずめる
You learned this reading with the kanji, how nice for you! However, you might notice that in addition to うめる, there's another reading too: うずめる. うめる is used for the act of burying something or filling in a hole, while うずめる is used when describing the covering or concealment of something, or when burying one's face in something (like a fluffy cat!)
記事の空白はイラストで埋める？それとも広告で？
Should we fill the blank space in the article with an illustration, or with an advertisement?
あの猫のモフモフに顔を埋めたい！
I want to bury my face in that cat's fluffy fur!
学生バイトがあけたシフトの穴を埋めるために、急に来てくれって言われたんです。
I was called in on short notice to fill a shift vacancy left by a part-time student worker.
きっとだれかがもう話をしてると思うんだけど、私達、あの肉屋をあんたの庭に埋めたのさ。良かったかな。
I’m sure someone’s already told you, but we buried the butcher in your yard. I hope you don’t mind.