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
Byron offers a free burger with a £5 minimum spend, while Wagamama offers free gyoza when you spend £12 and have earned at least one stamp on your loyalty card in the last six months.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
In 2013, testing by Irish food-safety officials found horse DNA in more than a third of the frozen beefburger samples they examined; one Tesco burger was 29% horse.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
Those factors contributed to Wendy’s losing its No. 2 spot among the biggest burger chains in terms of U.S. sales, Wright said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
“For Halloween, we should run up and down 181st and get candy at all the stores. That’d be so cool,” James says, polishing off his first burger.
From "Watch Us Rise" by Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan
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
Burger King is instructing managers to staff front counters, while Wendy’s is reviewing its AI drive-through trials to improve service.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Waldorf Restaurant Group operates franchise locations of Burger King and El Pollo Loco, according to public records.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Dasch didn't know where they could be or how to reach them, raising his suspicion that Quirin and Heinck didn't trust him and Burger.
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
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
Among these were versions of the Erl König of Goethe, and the Lenore and The Wild Huntsman of Bürger, which appeared in 1796.
From English Literature, Considered as an Interpreter of English History Designed as a Manual of Instruction by Henry Coppee
French and Italian he seems to have been acquainted with so far as he deemed it necessary; but his principal literary studies were confined to Lessing, Bürger, Wieland, and Klopstock.
From Beethoven: A Memoir (2nd Ed.) by Elliott Graeme
To poor Bürger, whose life was just then bitter enough at the best, the review was a terrible blow.
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
The new menu for Delta One travelers will include wagyu beef burgers, Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon and Kentucky bourbon from Blanton’s as the airline competes for big-spending customers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Mr. Meyer reluctantly met with the nephew over Shake Shack burgers and fries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 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
Researchers examined a wide range of products commonly available to UK shoppers, including burgers, vegetarian chicken pieces, vegan sausages, and oat, almond and soy-based milks.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026
He washed his face and hands in hot water, slicked down his dark hair, then went back into the restaurant and ate his burgers and fries, and drank his coffee.
From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
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