burn rate
Americannoun
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Also called net burn rate. the negative cash flow for an enterprise, calculated as the monthly sum of revenue minus operating expenses.
Investors aren’t concerned about the company’s high burn rate since its growth is also explosive.
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Also called gross burn rate. the operating expenses of an enterprise, sometimes presented as the length of time a startup investment will last without additional income if the monthly operating expenses remain the same.
At the current burn rate, the company can fund two more quarters before it’s forced to seek fresh sources of cash inflow.
Etymology
Origin of burn rate
First recorded in 1960–65; burn 1 (in the sense “consume rapidly”) + rate 1 ( def. )
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.
Back then, burn rate measured how much cash a money-losing startup was blowing through each quarter and how many months it had left before it ran out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
A $400,000-a-month burn rate would have depleted Winston’s $25.25 million contract in about five years.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 20, 2025
The burn rate is how much you’re spending per month.
From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2025
Mike Rose, head of Manchester-based gaming publisher No More Robots, said many firms were spending more money than they were generating from sales and now needed to get this "burn rate" down.
From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2023
"We have about a $2 million a week burn rate," said Shanaberger.
From Reuters ● Sep. 30, 2021
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
