- present participle of burn.
burning
Americanadjective
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aflame; on fire.
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very hot; simmering.
The water was burning.
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very bright; glowing.
She wore a burning red bathing suit.
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caused by or as if by fire, a burn, or heat.
He had a burning sensation in his throat.
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intense; passionate.
a burning desire.
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urgent or crucial.
a burning question.
noun
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the state, process, sensation, or effect of being on fire, burned, or subjected to intense heat.
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the baking of ceramic products to develop hardness and other properties.
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the heating or the calcining of certain ores and rocks as a preliminary stage in various industrial processes.
adjective
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intense; passionate
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urgent; crucial
a burning problem
noun
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a form of heat treatment used to harden and finish ceramic materials or to prepare certain ores for further treatment by calcination
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overheating of an alloy during heat treatment in which local fusion or excessive oxide formation and penetration occur, weakening the alloy
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the heat treatment of particular kinds of gemstones to change their colour
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of burning
First recorded before 1000; Middle English brenning, Old English byrnende; see burn 1, -ing 1, -ing 2
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.
More bad air is expected around the Boyle Heights warehouses that has been burning since Wednesday.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 21, 2026
City Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado, who represents the district where the fire is burning, raised concern over long-term health impacts in Boyle Heights.
From Barron's • Jun. 21, 2026
In the short term, it will probably drive some countries back to burning coal and accelerate oil drilling in the Western Hemisphere.
From Salon • Jun. 21, 2026
Moore suggested Sunday that the steel has protected most of the foam from burning, but the fire has emitted gases despite ongoing efforts to fight the flames from the ground and with helicopters.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 21, 2026
“You think that?” she asked, her eyes burning.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
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.
