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Synonyms

burning question

Idioms  

  1. An urgent or crucial issue under heated discussion. For example, Real estate taxes are always a burning question for the town leaders. This term has exact equivalents in French (question brûlante) and German (brennende Frage). [Mid-1800s]

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.

Tuchel will rightly say Uruguay and Japan are the tough tests England required to tune up for the World Cup, but the burning question is still the same and has not been answered.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

Travelers hunt for regional souvenirs, soothe their homesickness and investigate a burning question: Is the hot dog different?

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026

A burning question now is, when will the court rule?

From MarketWatch • Dec. 15, 2025

I think that leaves us with the burning question you and I are now asking every week: Are the justices really that naive and credulous?

From Slate • Jul. 18, 2025

The burning question is: is the universe more like a giant ever-enlarging blimp, or does it pulsate, does it expand and contract?

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

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.