bur

1
[ bur ]

noun
  1. a rough, prickly case around the seeds of certain plants, as the chestnut or burdock.

  2. any bur-bearing plant.

  1. something that adheres like a bur.

  2. Machinery. burr1 (defs. 1, 3).

  3. Dentistry. a rotary cutting tool usually of steel or other hard metal shaped into a shank and a head, for removing carious material from teeth and preparing cavities for filling.

  4. Surgery. a cutting tool resembling that of a dentist, used for the excavation of bone.

verb (used with object),burred, bur·ring.
  1. to extract or remove burs from.

Origin of bur

1
1300–50; Middle English burre, apparently cognate with Danish burre,Norwegian, Swedish borre bur

Words Nearby bur

Other definitions for bur (2 of 4)

bur2
[ bur ]

noun

Other definitions for bur. (3 of 4)

bur.

abbreviation
  1. bureau.

Other definitions for Bur. (4 of 4)

Bur.

abbreviation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bur in a sentence

  • A person earning 10 dollars a week can see a 100% increase by getting a raise to 20 bucks a week—bur remains impoverished.

  • Canary bur-rd seed will be very cheap this year, an' anny American wurrukin' man needn't go to bed hungry.

    Mr. Dooley Says | Finley Dunne
  • Riprisintatives iv th' Chicago packers insisted that in time canary bur-rds cud be taught to eat pork chops.

    Mr. Dooley Says | Finley Dunne
  • Here, with the help of their nearest neighbors, they built in a day a cabin of rough, bur-oak logs.

    Heroes of To-Day | Mary R. Parkman
  • It is distinguished from others of the same species by the name of Cubbeer bur, which was given it in honour of a famous saint.

British Dictionary definitions for bur (1 of 3)

bur

/ (bɜː) /


noun
  1. a seed vessel or flower head, as of burdock, having hooks or prickles

  2. any plant that produces burs

  1. a person or thing that clings like a bur

  2. a small surgical or dental drill

  3. a variant spelling of burr 3, burr 4

verbburs, burring or burred
  1. (tr) to remove burs from

Origin of bur

1
C14: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Danish burre bur, Swedish kardborre burdock
  • Also (for senses 1–4): burr

British Dictionary definitions for BUR (2 of 3)

BUR

abbreviation for
  1. Myanmar (international car registration)

Origin of BUR

2
from Burma

British Dictionary definitions for Bur. (3 of 3)

Bur.

abbreviation for
  1. Myanmar (Burma)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for bur

bur

  1. A type of pseudocarp in which the outer surface possesses hooks or barbs. Burs become caught in the feathers or hair of animals, which then carry them away to disperse the seeds.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.