burger

¹ American  

[bur-ger] / ˈbɜr gər /

noun

1. a hamburger.

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

   veggie or turkey burgers.

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Burger ² American  

[bur-ger] / ˈbɜr gər /

noun

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

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-burger ³ American  

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.

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burger ¹ British  

/ ˈbɜːɡə /

noun

1. informal

   1. short for hamburger

   2. ( in combination )

      a cheeseburger

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Bürger ² British  

/ ˈbyrɡər /

noun

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

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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.

Etymology

Origin of burger

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

Example Sentences

The burger chain said Wednesday the new program will be integrated across its app, website, and in-store systems, allowing it to personalize offers and communicate directly with customers based on their behavior.

From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026

McDonald’s said its new burger, the Big Arch, got a sales boost from all the attention, too.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

“The winner is doing fine, but the burger category is in some stress,” Lewis said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

In 2024, director Steven Spielberg was seen taking photos of his burger, and models Emily Ratajkowski and Adwoa Aboah posed for the cameras mid-chomp.

From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026

“Smells good too! You sure you don’t want a burger? Dad runs the One Stop restaurant across from the stoplight in town. His burgers really are the best.”

From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry