burn off

verb

1. to clear (land) of vegetation by burning

2. to get rid of (unwanted gas at an oil well, etc) by burning

noun

1. an act or the process of burning off

Idioms and Phrases

Dissipate by heat, as in The sun will soon burn off the morning fog .

Clear land by burning vegetation, as in They've decided to burn off part of the field to prepare it for another planting . This practice has long been common in many parts of the world, but the precise term dates only from the first half of the 1800s.

Related Words

• clarify 
• eliminate 
• erase 
• free 
• open