burke
verb (used with object)
to murder, as by suffocation, so as to leave no or few marks of violence.
Showing results for burke.
Search instead for
burking.
burke
1 American
[burk]
/ bɜrk /
verb (used with object)
burked,
burking
-
to murder, as by suffocation, so as to leave no or few marks of violence.
-
to suppress or get rid of by some indirect maneuver.
Burke
2
American
[burk]
/ bɜrk /
noun
-
Billie Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke, 1886–1970, U.S. actress.
-
Edmund, 1729–97, Irish statesman, orator, and writer.
-
Kenneth Duva 1897–1993, U.S. literary critic.
Burke
1
British
/ bɜːk /
noun
-
Edmund . 1729–97, British Whig statesman, conservative political theorist, and orator, born in Ireland: defended parliamentary government and campaigned for a more liberal treatment of the American colonies; denounced the French Revolution
-
Robert O'Hara . 1820–61, Irish explorer, who led the first expedition (1860–61) across Australia from south to north. He was accompanied by W. J. Wills, George Grey, and John King; King alone survived the return journey
-
William . 1792–1829, Irish murderer and body snatcher; associate of William Hare
burke
2
British
/ bɜːk /
verb
-
to murder in such a way as to leave no marks on the body, usually by suffocation
-
to get rid of, silence, or suppress
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of burke
After W. Burke, hanged in 1829 in Edinburgh for murders of this kind
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:
Little joy would you have had in most that has befallen since the Reform Bill was passed, to the chivalrous cry of "burke Sir Walter."
From Letters to Dead Authors by Andrew Lang
It has been said that in the delays in bringing forward this subject, I have been anxious to burke discussion.
From Indian speeches (1907-1909) by John Morley
He has never been known to burke a school.
From Anticipations Of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress upon Human life and Thought by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
I think they used it first for Pethick Lawrence, that man who did so much to run the old militant suffragettes and burke the proper discussion of woman's future.
From Marriage by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
There is no need for me to burke the words.
From The Record of Nicholas Freydon An Autobiography by A. J. (Alec John) Dawson
In the adumbrated cityscapes and sunlit garden plots, he might remix an inherited gesture, shade or style of line with hazy neighborhood memories of Bursch Elementary or Burke Park.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
The studio didn’t change course when the rating came back, Burke said, because the goal was to tell the story as truthfully as possible.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
His Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke backed up that statement with figures showing that reports of threatening or harassing behaviour towards politicians had risen from 951 to 1,067 in the past year.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
“Hands down, the EV can win on energy cost, but we still have to make sure we don’t give those savings back through downtime and lost utilization,” Burke said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
I learned about it when I was researching Glenn Burke.
From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner
They burked the challenge then; their half measures of diplomatic ostracism only strengthened Franco with his own people.
From Time Magazine Archive
Or a rumour may be burked, or "hushed up."
From Stories That Words Tell Us by Elizabeth (Elizabeth Speakman) O'Neill
I am sorry to say that, stenographically speaking, I burked Isaiah, and contented myself with the long-hand abbreviation, Is., and as to the text itself, I thought the first three words would suffice.
From Curious Church Customs and Cognate Subjects by William Andrews
The Mahmal was burked this year, and the fair at Tantah forbidden.
From Letters from Egypt by Janet Ross
I am sure that present Royalty would neither be boycotted nor burked.
From My Life as an Author by Martin Farquhar Tupper
Any tax, therefore, levied on those who have neither land nor money is a crying injustice, except, indeed," he added with bitter irony, "we admit of a small pole-tax to keep down burking.
From Dilemmas of Pride, (Vol 1 of 3) by Margracia Loudon
Macdonald's motion provoked charges of burking free discussion, and counter-charges of obstruction, want of patriotism and inclinations towards annexation.
From George Brown by John Lewis
The burking of his cablegrams, made known by the Baron, was the last straw in an aggravated load.
From The Wheel O' Fortune by Louis Tracy
For there is no burking the truth that in many respects the American woman carries about her a peculiar charm ungranted as yet to her European sisters.
From Post-Prandial Philosophy by Grant Allen
I encounter a Vagualame disguised, who runs as if all the devils of hell were after him ... who makes off with extraordinary agility, whose presence of mind in burking pursuit is marvellous!...
From A Nest of Spies by Marcel Allain
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
