to injure, endanger, or damage with or as if with fire: Look out, you'll burn yourself!
to execute by burning: The heretic was burned at the stake.
to subject to fire or treat with heat as a process of manufacturing.
to produce with or as if with fire: She burned a hole in her dress.
to cause sharp pain or a stinging sensation: The iodine burned his cut.
to consume rapidly, especially to squander: He burned energy as if he never heard of resting.
Slang. to suffer losses or be disillusioned in business or social relationships: She was burned by that phony stock deal.
Slang. to cheat or rob.
Digital Technology. to copy or write data to (an optical disk): She burned a CD of their favorite songs.Compare rip1(def 4).
Chemistry. to cause to undergo combustion; oxidize.
to damage through excessive friction, as in grinding or machining; scorch.
Metallurgy. to oxidize (a steel ingot), as with a flame.
British. to scald (a wine, especially sherry) in an iron container over a fire.
Cards. to put (a played or rejected card) face up at the bottom of the pack.
Slang. to disclose the identity of (an undercover agent, law officer, etc.): to burn a narcotics detective.
noun
a burned place or area: a burn where fire had ripped through the forest.
Pathology. an injury usually caused by heat but also by abnormal cold, chemicals, poison gas, electricity, or lightning, and characterized by a painful reddening and swelling of the epidermis (first-degree burn), damage extending into the dermis, usually with blistering (second-degree burn), or destruction of the epidermis and dermis extending into the deeper tissue with loss of pain receptors (third-degree burn).
the process or an instance of burning or baking, as in brickmaking.
a forest or brush fire.
the firing of a rocket engine.
a burning sensation felt in the muscles during intense exercise (usually preceded by the): Repeat the sit-ups till you feel the burn in your lower abs.
Slang. a swindle.
Verb Phrases
burn down, to burn to the ground: That barn was struck by lightning and burned down.
burn in, Photography. (in printing) to expose (one part of an image) to more light by masking the other parts in order to darken and give greater detail to the unmasked area.Also print in.Compare dodge(def 2).
burn off, (of morning mist) to be dissipated by the warmth of the rising sun.
burn on, to weld lead with lead.
burn one up, Informal. to incite to anger: That attitude burns me up.
burn out,
to cease functioning because something has been exhausted or burned up, as fuel or a filament: Our light bulbs burned out.
to deprive of a place to live, work, etc., by reason of fire: They were burned out and had to live with relatives.
to wear out; exhaust; be worn out; become exhausted.
burn up,
to burn completely or utterly: The papers burned up in a minute.
Informal.to become angry: He burns up at the mention of her name.
burn oneself out, to exhaust one's energy, ideas, etc., through overwork or intemperance: They feared that he would burn himself out or break down.
burn the midnight oil, to work, study,etc., until late at night: to burn the midnight oil before final exams.
burn the/one's candle at both ends, to be excessively active or immoderate, as by leading an active social life by night and a busy work life by day: You can't burn the candle at both ends and hold onto a job.
Origin of burn
1
before 900;Middle Englishbernen, brennen,Old Englishbeornan (intransitive), (cognate with Gothic,Old High Germanbrinnan), and Old Englishbærnan (transitive), (cognate with Gothicbrannjan,Old High Germanbrennen)
Related formsburn·a·ble, adjectivehalf-burned, adjectivenon·burn·a·ble, adjectiveun·burn·a·ble, adjectiveun·burned, adjectivewell-burned, adjective
16. Burn,scorch,sear,singe refer to the effect of fire or heat. To burn is to consume, wholly or in part, by contact with fire or excessive heat: to burn leaves.Scorch implies superficial or slight burning, resulting in a change of color or in injury to the texture because of shriveling or curling: to scorch a dress while ironing.Sear refers especially to the drying or hardening caused by heat: to sear a roast of meat.Singe applies especially to a superficial burning that takes off ends or projections: to singe hair; singe the pinfeathers from a chicken.
burn one's fingersto suffer from having meddled or been rash
noun
an injury caused by exposure to heat, electrical, chemical, or radioactive agents. Burns are classified according to the depth of tissue affected: first-degree burn : skin surface painful and red; second-degree burn : blisters appear on the skin; third-degree burn : destruction of both epidermis and dermis
a mark, e.g. on wood, caused by burning
a controlled use of rocket propellant, esp for a course correction
a hot painful sensation in a muscle, experienced during vigorous exercisego for the burn!
Australian and NZa controlled fire to clear an area of scrub
12c., combination of Old Norse brenna "to burn, light," and two originally distinct Old English verbs: bærnan "to kindle" (transitive) and beornan "to be on fire" (intransitive), all from Proto-Germanic *brennan/*branajan (cf. Middle Dutch bernen, Dutch branden, Old High German brinnan, German brennen, Gothic -brannjan "to set on fire"). This perhaps is from PIE *gwher- "to heat, warm" (see warm (adj.)), or from PIE *bhre-n-u, from root *bhreue- "to boil forth, well up" (see brew (v.)). Related: Burned/burnt (see -ed); burning.
Figuratively (of passions, battle, etc.) in Old English. Meaning "cheat, swindle, victimize" is first attested 1650s. In late 18c, slang, burned meant "infected with venereal disease." To burn one's bridges (behind one) "behave so as to destroy any chance of returning to a status quo" (attested by 1892 in Mark Twain), perhaps ultimately is from reckless cavalry raids in the American Civil War. Slavic languages have historically used different and unrelated words for the transitive and intransitive senses of "set fire to"/"be on fire:" cf. Polish palić/gorzeć, Russian žeč'/gorel.
burn
n.
c.1300, "act of burning," from Old English bryne, from the same source as burn (v.). Until mid-16c. the usual spelling was brenne. Meaning "mark made by burning" is from 1520s. Slow burn first attested 1938, in reference to U.S. movie actor Edgar Kennedy (1890-1948), who made it his specialty.
To be on fire; undergo combustion. A substance burns if it is heated up enough to react chemically with oxygen.
To cause a burn to a bodily tissue.
Noun
Tissue injury caused by fire, heat, radiation (such as sun exposure), electricity, or a caustic chemical agent. Burns are classified according to the degree of tissue damage, which can include redness, blisters, skin edema and loss of sensation. Bacterial infection is a serious and sometimes fatal complication of severe burns.
Dissipate by heat, as in The sun will soon burn off the morning fog.
2
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.
