# What does ‘bury the hatchet’ mean?

To “bury the hatchet” means to end a quarrel and make peace. Brewer's traces the phrase to the Native American custom of literally burying weapons of war as a symbolic pledge of peace.

## What it means

- Brewer's traces the phrase to the Native American custom of literally burying weapons of war as a symbolic pledge of peace.

## Action steps

1. Standard call for reconciliation.
2. Example: It's time to bury the hatchet and move on.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Internet Archive scan](https://archive.org/details/brewers-dictionary-of-phrase-and-fable)

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