burn rubber

1. Drive very fast, as in We'll have to burn rubber to get there in time. In this bit of automotive jargon, the rubber refers to tires that heat up when they rotate suddenly at great speed. [Slang; mid-1900s]

Example Sentences

Drivers draw crowds of spectators as they perform stunts such as “doughnuts” — spinning their cars in circles until their tires burn rubber marks on the pavement.

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Although it was too crowded to do full spin-outs, cars still spun their tires to burn rubber, to the cheer of crowds.

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The racetrack’s last Thursday Night Thunder — where enthusiasts can bring their own cars to race on the drag strip or burn rubber in the burnout box — is set for Dec. 5.

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The tires never break loose, they never burn rubber.

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Other meetups have turned into full-blown takeovers down the street, where drivers block the intersection late at night as they burn rubber.

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