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.
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.
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
to murder in such a way as to leave no marks on the body, usually by suffocation
to get rid of, silence, or suppress
After W. Burke, hanged in 1829 in Edinburgh for murders of this kind
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Look here—it's no use trying to burke facts.
From Scarhaven Keep by Fletcher, J. S. (Joseph Smith)
I'm no' gaun to burke ye the nicht; but I canna sleep; I'm sair misdoubtful o' the thing.
From Alton Locke, Tailor and Poet An Autobiography by Hughes, Thomas
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 Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)
There is no need for me to burke the words.
From The Record of Nicholas Freydon An Autobiography by Dawson, A. J. (Alec John)
There must be no question of trying to shirk or burke it.
From My Friend Prospero by Harland, Henry
Edmund Burke described society as a partnership between the living, the dead and the unborn.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
In his 1953 book, “The Conservative Mind,” Russell Kirk placed Disraeli in an Anglo-American tradition alongside Burke and T.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Brendan Burke, research director at Futurum Equities, believes the rapid adoption of Chinese open-weight models “substantiates demand for intelligent reasoning and will encourage hyperscalers to continue investing in frontier capabilities.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
Lois Burke, 90, said it was more like Caribbean weather, but added: "I wouldn't want it to get any hotter and at my age I'm not particularly active, so it's just lying around a bit."
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
“Don’t you want to find the letter you was talking about last night?” said Burke.
From "Louisiana's Way Home" by Kate DiCamillo
They burked the challenge then; their half measures of diplomatic ostracism only strengthened Franco with his own people.
From Time Magazine Archive
I’ve tried to get something out of Murad, but my messengers have failed; but all the same, I feel sure he knows all about it, and burked Arthur for a reason of his own.”
From One Maid's Mischief by Fenn, George Manville
Between you and Mr. Theydon, the work of my department has been hindered and burked most scandalously.
From Number Seventeen by Tracy, Louis
Every woman who dares to speak on this great burked subject seems to have "a remedy" ready to her hand.
From The Truth About Woman by Hartley, C. Gasquoine (Catherine Gasquoine)
He was far too shrewd to go straight back to the topic burked by his own error.
From The Stowaway Girl by Tracy, Louis
The burking of his cablegrams, made known by the Baron, was the last straw in an aggravated load.
From The Wheel O' Fortune by Tracy, Louis
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 Allen, Grant
You don’t suppose as I’m giving up my respectable business of a nat’ralist to go in for burking and doctor’s work, do you?
From A Little World by Fenn, George Manville
Well, of course, if Farrant chooses to insult Percival so gratuitously by burking his message to us....
From Waste A Tragedy, In Four Acts by Granville-Barker, Harley
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 Allain, Marcel
Definitions 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.
