burger

¹

[ bur-ger ]

noun

1. a hamburger.
2. a food patty, or patty on a bun, containing ingredients other than beef:

   veggie or turkey burgers.

Burger

²

[ bur-ger ]

noun

1. Warren Earl, 1907–1995, U.S. jurist: chief justice of the U.S. 1969–86.

-burger

³

1. a combining form extracted from hamburger, occurring in compounds the initial element of which denotes a special garnish for a hamburger or a substitute ingredient for the meat patty:

   baconburger; cheeseburger; fishburger.

Bürger

¹

/ ˈbyrɡər /

noun

1. BürgerGottfried August17471794MGermanWRITING: poet Gottfried August (ˈɡɔtfriːt ˈauɡʊst). 1747–94, German lyric poet, noted particularly for his ballad Lenore (1773)

burger

²

/ ˈbɜːɡə /

noun

1. informal.
   1. short for hamburger
   2. ( in combination )

      a cheeseburger

Word History and Origins

Origin of burger¹

1935–40, Americanism; extracted from hamburger by false analysis as ham ¹ + burger

Example Sentences

What is less clear is what to replace your burger and cheese with.

From Salon

He was also indirectly invested in the restaurant chain Epic Burger.

From Los Angeles Times

Lee Rolston is the chief growth officer of global branding agency Jones Knowles Ritchie and has worked on rebrands of household names such as Burger King and the RSPCA.

From BBC

The buyer of the card goes to a checkout stand and puts, let’s say, $100 on the card to be redeemed at Target, Burger King or any number of establishments.

From Los Angeles Times

Popular burger joint Shake Shack closed nine locations in September, including five in the Los Angeles area.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• burger

Words That Use -burger

What does -burger mean?

The combining form –burger is used like a suffix indicating a kind of hamburger or other patty in a sandwich bun.

The form –burger comes from the end of the word hamburger, meaning “a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground beef in a roll or bun.” The word hamburger itself comes from a shortening of a dish named Hamburger steak, from the German city of Hamburg.

Examples of -burger

An example of a word you may have encountered that features –burger is veggieburger, or vegeburger, “a flat cake of chopped seasoned vegetables that is grilled or fired and often served in a bread roll.”

The veggie– part of veggieburger is short for “vegetable,” and the –burger part of the word means “burger.” Veggieburger literally means “vegetable burger.”

What are some words that use the combining form –burger?

• baconburger
• gardenburger
• nothingburger
• soyburger
• turkeyburger

What are some other forms that –burger may be commonly confused with?

• -burg
• -burgh

Break it down!

Given the meaning of the form –burger, what kind of dish is a baconburger?