burger
noun
a hamburger.
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burger
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Burger
BurgernounWarren Earl, 1907–1995, U.S. jurist: chief justice of the U.S. 1969–86.
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-burger
-burgera 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.
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Bürger
BürgernounGottfried August (ˈɡɔtfriːt ˈauɡʊst). 1747–94, German lyric poet, noted particularly for his ballad Lenore (1773)
burger
1 American
[bur-ger]
/ ˈbɜr gər /
noun
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burgers
plural
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a hamburger.
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a food patty, or patty on a bun, containing ingredients other than beef.
veggie or turkey burgers.
Burger
2
American
[bur-ger]
/ ˈbɜr gər /
noun
-burger
3
American
burger
1
British
/ ˈbɜːɡə /
noun
Bürger
2
British
/ ˈbyrɡər /
noun
Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of burger
1935–40, extracted from hamburger by false analysis as ham 1 + burger
Explanation
A grilled beef patty on a bun is called a burger. Lunch at a fast food restaurant often consists of a burger and fries. You can use the word burger as a casual shorthand for hamburger, which is ground or minced beef that's fried and served on a bun. A burger can also be made of other ingredients, like turkey or tofu or lamb. In fact, if you shape food into a patty, grill it, and put it on a roll or bun, you can call it a burger. The word was first used in 1939, from hamburger.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
I like to put the fries on the burger.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
She heard the musician ordered a burger and told the manager it was so good that he ordered a second one.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
For a struggling burger restaurant, this was less an offer than a small miracle.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
Since taking the helm as Wendy’s chief executive in May, Wright has been unsparing in his assessment of the burger chain’s challenges.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
He said we should get a burger on Friday.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
In-N-Out Burger will open seven new U.S. locations in 2025, including four in California and three others in Arizona, Colorado and Washington.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
Carl’s Jr. is targeting Burger King with a “Stealing the Crown” promotion offering a free burger to consumers who submit a rival’s receipt or a paper crown.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
It will move into a 254,000-square-foot campus at Alton HQ along with its sister company Habit Burger & Grill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Some fast-food chains offer a free birthday meal or snack - Burger King members can claim a free Whopper or Plant-Based Whopper, while Chopstix offers a free small noodle box.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
The next day, Saturday, June 20, Peter Burger left his hotel room at about two thirty in the afternoon.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
The suffix -burger is loaned from hamburger to form cheeseburger or veggie burger - even though a hamburger refers to its origins in Hamburg, Germany, not to a burger made from ham.
From BBC ● May 11, 2013
His youth was molded by the influence of Goethe, Klopstock, Bürger, and Voss.
From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 2 by Hamilton Wright Mabie
He wrote graceful vers de societé, made translations from Bürger, and is best remembered by his well-known ballad of Gelert.
From A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature by John W. (John William) Cousin
While still at Weimar Schiller received a visit from Bürger, and the two agreed to vie with each other in a translation from Vergil.
From The Life and Works of Friedrich Schiller by Calvin Thomas
Wieland, Merck, Bürger, Madame de Staël, Karl August, and other great people sought her acquaintance.
From The Bed-Book of Happiness by Harold Begbie
Some translations of Bürger by Mr. Taylor, of Norwich, which she had read out at Edinburgh, had struck him so much that they had determined him to try his own powers in that line.
From A Book of Sibyls Miss Barbauld, Miss Edgeworth, Mrs Opie, Miss Austen by Anne Thackeray Ritchie
"Those who have a more Western-style diet, including foods like burgers and sodas, may have a greater chance of progressing to fatty liver disease if they are also exposed to polyethylene," Joshi said.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
McDonald’s on Wednesday also said it would roll out bigger burgers, adding that it was exploring fresh Quarter Pounders and hot-off-the-grill preparation in more areas.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
Their first post captured Ararat El-Rawi, bursting with energy as he served them a multicourse meal including tabbouleh, lamb burgers, spinach pie, baklava and endless wine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
The menu in Japan will feature 15 hot dogs, burgers, and sides.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The best ice cream and the greasiest burgers and fries around.
From "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
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