burner phone

American  

[bur-ner fohn] / ˈbɜr nər ˌfoʊn /

noun

Informal.

1. a disposable cell phone with prepaid service, often used with the intent to temporarily obscure the true identity or contact information of the user: I always give out the number from my burner phone when I’m going on a blind date.

   Members of the cartel used burner phones to evade federal surveillance.

   I always give out the number from my burner phone when I’m going on a blind date.

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Etymology

Origin of burner phone

2000–05; burn ¹ ( def. ) (perhaps in the slang sense “to disclose the identity of”) + -er ¹ ( def. ) + phone ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

In a Los Angeles County jewelry heist, investigators last year linked a burner phone from a traffic accident to the heist location and to other crimes.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026

Adjusting to post-Traitors fame can be difficult to manage, but one star of the show admitted the police were called after she tried to buy a burner phone to help manage her social media.

From BBC • Jan. 10, 2026

Your brother tries to find the buyer, but it turns out they used a burner phone.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 10, 2025

The managers' responses to Paxton's pretrial motions offer new allegations against Paxton, including that he used a burner phone, secret email account and fake Uber name to hide his relationship with Paul.

From Salon • Aug. 18, 2023

As scared as I am of hiding that burner phone between my mattress and the wall, I’m so thankful that it made this moment in the pantry of the Mess possible.

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed