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Showing results for burning question. Search instead for posing questions.
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.

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 will leave you with the answer to a burning question I had as I reported this piece: When a shrimp is contaminated with radioactive materials, does it glow?

From Slate • Aug. 21, 2025

OK, so maybe it’s not a burning question.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2025

I’m silent, watching her, wanting to ask the burning question I’ve held on to since I figured out Abby died.

From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott

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.