burn off

British  

verb

1. to clear (land) of vegetation by burning

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

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noun

1. an act or the process of burning off

burn off Idioms  

1. 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.

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Example Sentences

Venezuela’s oil fields are heavily emitting in part because they contain large quantities of gas that must be burned off, or flared, because the facilities don’t exist to bring it to market.

From The Wall Street Journal

“You want to melt your sneakers and possibly burn off your feet stepping on the wrong pile of ash?”

From Literature

To burn off my energy, my parents had enrolled me in dance classes at age 4.

From The Wall Street Journal

As the morning marine layer burned off it revealed miles of dreamy California coastline, with sand cliffs tumbling to the shore.

From The Wall Street Journal

Scott told the passengers that the plane had a mechanical problem requiring it to circle and burn off fuel.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• clarify
• eliminate
• erase
• free
• open