burn
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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to undergo rapid combustion or consume fuel in such a way as to give off heat, gases, and, usually, light; be on fire.
The fire burned in the grate.
- Synonyms:
- flame
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(of a fireplace, furnace, etc.) to contain a fire.
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to feel heat or a physiologically similar sensation; feel pain from or as if from a fire.
The wound burned and throbbed.
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to give off light or to glow brightly.
The lights in the house burned all night.
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to give off heat or be hot.
The pavement burned in the noon sun.
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to produce pain or a stinging sensation similar to that of fire; cause to smart.
The whiskey burned in his throat.
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to feel extreme anger.
When she said I was rude, I really burned.
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to feel strong emotion or passion.
He burned with desire.
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Chemistry.
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to undergo combustion, either fast or slow; oxidize.
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to undergo fission or fusion.
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to become charred or overcooked by heat.
The steak burned around the edges.
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to receive a sunburn.
She burns easily and has to stay in the shade.
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to be punished or executed by fire.
You'll burn in hell for that sin.
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to be engraved by or as if by burning.
His words burned into her heart.
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Slang. to die in an electric chair.
The murderer was sentenced to burn.
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Games. to be extremely close to finding a concealed object or guessing an answer.
verb (used with object)
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to cause to undergo combustion or be consumed partly or wholly by fire.
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to use as fuel or as a source of light.
He burned coal to heat the house.
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to cause to feel the sensation of heat.
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to overcook or char.
I almost burned the roast.
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to sunburn.
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to injure, endanger, or damage with or as if with fire.
Look out, you'll burn yourself!
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to execute by burning.
The heretic was burned at the stake.
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to subject to fire or treat with heat as a process of manufacturing.
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to produce with or as if with fire.
She burned a hole in her dress.
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to cause sharp pain or a stinging sensation.
The iodine burned his cut.
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to consume rapidly, especially to squander.
He burned energy as if he never heard of resting.
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Slang. to suffer losses or be disillusioned in business or social relationships.
She was burned by that phony stock deal.
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Slang. to cheat or rob.
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Slang. to insult in a way that is especially perceptive and therefore especially harsh and humiliating.
You just got burned by a seven year old—the kid calls it as she sees it!
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Digital Technology. to copy or write data to (an optical disk).
She burned a CD of their favorite songs.
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Chemistry. to cause to undergo combustion; oxidize.
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Machinery. to damage through excessive friction, as in grinding or machining; scorch.
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Metallurgy. to oxidize (a steel ingot), as with a flame.
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British. to scald (a wine, especially sherry) in an iron container over a fire.
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Cards. to put (a played or rejected card) face up at the bottom of the pack.
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Slang. to disclose the identity of (an undercover agent, law officer, etc.).
to burn a narcotics officer.
noun
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a burned place or area.
a burn where fire had ripped through the forest.
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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.
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the process or an instance of burning or baking, as in brickmaking.
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a forest or brush fire.
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the firing of a rocket engine.
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Usually the burn a burning sensation felt in the muscles during intense exercise.
Repeat the sit-ups till you feel the burn in your lower abs.
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Slang. a swindle.
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Slang. an especially harsh and humiliating insult or put-down, often delivered in the presence of others: His ego must need first aid after that burn.
Ooh, sick burn, bruh!
His ego must need first aid after that burn.
verb phrase
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burn up
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to burn completely or utterly.
The papers burned up in a minute.
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Informal. to become angry.
He burns up at the mention of her name.
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burn off (of morning mist) to be dissipated by the warmth of the rising sun.
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burn on to weld lead with lead.
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burn down to burn to the ground.
That barn was struck by lightning and burned down.
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burn one up to incite to anger.
That attitude burns me up.
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burn in (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.
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burn out
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to cease functioning because something has been exhausted or burned up, as fuel or a filament.
Our light bulbs burned out.
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to deprive of a place to live, work, etc., by reason of fire.
They were burned out and had to live with relatives.
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to wear out; exhaust; be worn out; become exhausted.
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idioms
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burn one's bridges (behind one). bridge.
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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.
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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.
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burn the midnight oil, to work, study, etc., until late at night.
to burn the midnight oil before final exams.
noun
verb
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to undergo or cause to undergo combustion
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to destroy or be destroyed by fire
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(tr) to damage, injure, or mark by heat
he burnt his hand
she was burnt by the sun
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to die or put to death by fire
to burn at the stake
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(intr) to be or feel hot
my forehead burns
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to smart or cause to smart
brandy burns one's throat
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(intr) to feel strong emotion, esp anger or passion
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(tr) to use for the purposes of light, heat, or power
to burn coal
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(tr) to form by or as if by fire
to burn a hole
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to char or become charred
the potatoes are burning in the saucepan
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(tr) to brand or cauterize
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(tr) to cut (metal) with an oxygen-rich flame
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to produce by or subject to heat as part of a process
to burn charcoal
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(tr) to copy information onto (a CD-ROM)
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astronomy to convert (a lighter element) to a heavier one by nuclear fusion in a star
to burn hydrogen
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cards to discard or exchange (one or more useless cards)
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informal (tr; usually passive) to cheat, esp financially
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slang to electrocute or be electrocuted
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slang (tr) to drive fast (esp in the phrase go for a burn )
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to commit oneself to a particular course of action with no possibility of turning back
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See candle
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to suffer from having meddled or been rash
noun
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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
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a mark, e.g. on wood, caused by burning
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a controlled use of rocket propellant, esp for a course correction
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a hot painful sensation in a muscle, experienced during vigorous exercise
go for the burn!
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a controlled fire to clear an area of scrub
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slang tobacco or a cigarette
noun
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To be on fire; undergo combustion. A substance burns if it is heated up enough to react chemically with oxygen.
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To cause a burn to a bodily tissue.
Usage
What does burn mean? To burn means to be on fire, as in Nomar burned all the wood in the campfire. To burn literally means to consume fuel in a way that gives off heat, gases, and light, as with a fire, or to contain a fire, as a fireplace does. Burn also has many figurative senses related to its literal sense. For example, if you feel pain from a wound, you might say it burns. Something that stings can also be said to burn. And something that gives off a glow, such as a lamp, also burns. As well, if you’re very angry, you might say you’re burning. And if you have very strong feelings, either positive or negative, you might say you’re burning with those feelings. Finally a burn is a burned place, such as where there was a fire, or an injury to your skin. A first-degree burn usually turns the skin red and causes swelling. A second-degree burn could include blisters, while a third-degree burn causes damage to the tissue beneath the skin. Example: He cleaned up so many sticks from his backyard that he decided to burn them instead of taking them to the dumpster.
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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burnableadjective
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half-burnedadjective
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nonburnableadjective
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unburnableadjective
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unburnedadjective
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well-burnedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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burnsimple
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burnssimple
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have burnedperfect
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have burntperfect
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has burnedperfect
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has burntperfect
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am burningprogressive
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are burningprogressive
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is burningprogressive
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have been burningperfect progressive
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has been burningperfect progressive
Past
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burnedsimple
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burntsimple
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had burnedperfect
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had burntperfect
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was burningprogressive
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were burningprogressive
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had been burningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of burn1
First recorded before 900; Middle English bernen, brennen, Old English beornan (intransitive), (cognate with Gothic, Old High German brinnan ), and Old English bærnan (transitive), (cognate with Gothic brannjan, Old High German brennen )
Origin of burn2
First recorded before 900; Middle English burn(e), bourn(e), Old English burna, burne “stream, brook”; cognate with Gothic brunna, Dutch born, bron, German Brunnen, Old Norse brunnr “spring, well”
Explanation
When things burn, they're on fire. People who live in the country sometimes burn leaves and brush, setting big piles alight until they're reduced to ash. A house can burn to the ground, and you can burn a stick of incense or a candle with a tiny flame. Another way things burn is from the heat of the sun, as your pale skin burns if you lie on a beach in your bathing suit with no sunblock. Yet another thing that burns is energy, whether it's a motorcycle that burns too much gasoline or a child who burns excess energy by jumping on a trampoline.
Vocabulary lists containing burn
"Raymond's Run"
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Words with Two Past-Tense Forms That Creeped (or Crept) into English
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Unit 16
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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.
See Examples For:
Today, Wahhoga Village includes a traditional roundhouse, traditional cedar bark houses known as umachas and the only cabin that the park service didn’t burn when it evicted the remaining families from the site in 1969.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Boreal forests are also supposed to burn on an infrequent basis, in order to open up certain pine cones and spread their seeds, or to clear out lower tree branches.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026
The bottom line: You don’t want to burn bridges at work.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Some drillers flare or vent gas, meaning they burn it at the wellhead or simply release it into the atmosphere.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
“Can you tell her we’re not going to burn her?”
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
You may remember the president invoking it repeatedly in California, after 2018’s deadly Camp Fire and during last year’s Palisades burns.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026
Local media said two people were already taken to hospital with serious burns, while a firefighter was treated at the scene after being exposed to high temperatures.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Jealous Devil XL lump charcoal lights easily, produces minimal ash and burns for hours; Boom!
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
But Al-Juburi doesn’t see the result as a melting pot, which burns away the unique flavors and characteristics of each ingredient.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
Jacqui storms off, and Alyssa burns Garrett a glare.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
Worse, burned trees release the carbon they were storing, then destroy other plant life that could keep that carbon absorbed.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026
Hot spots remain at a wildfire which has burned across 10 square kilometres of land in the Cairngorms over the last week, according to the fire service.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Meanwhile, more and more is burned at home to generate electricity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
While her daughter wasn’t struggling academically, Talbert could see that she was burned out from her seven-hour school day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Just before bed, though, I was online again and I saw that there were long times between when burned people did the treatments — to see how well the skin grafts “took.”
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
Iraqi troops burnt hundreds of Kuwaiti oil wells as they withdrew after their 1991 defeat, straining the country's energy resources and causing an environmental crisis.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
There are still four large scorch marks where four vehicles were discovered burnt out.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Eight hours later, he found himself in a hospital in Tine, with his hands burnt and bandaged.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
He still has a copy of the programme from when the Tigers won promotion to the second division in 1966, though the original was lost when his previous caravan burnt down when he was 21.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
In a room without a window, there burnt a fire guarded by a high and strong fender, and a lamp suspended from the ceiling by a chain.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
A delayed rainy season between 2024 and 2025 blocked the emergence of the "ideal window for burning in certain areas" where fire is used to clear agricultural land, Alencar said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
That could further reward companies already monetizing the historic capital expenditures necessitated by the AI build-out and punish those still burning cash on promises, according to market analysts.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 19, 2026
Imagine this conversation with your spouse or roommate: “Dude, what is that smell? It stinks like burning diapers. Did you forget to pay the air?”
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
TORONTO—Hundreds of out-of-control wildfires are burning in Canada, shrouding skies there and the U.S. in an eerie yellow-gray haze and forcing the evacuation of dozens of communities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Four or five paragraphs were devoted to detailing the theater design—Oriental deities, minarets, hanging rugs, burning incense.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
