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
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.
May 18, 2026: A headline on this story initially misidentified the island where the fire is burning.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
As expected, the body quickly shifted from burning glucose to burning fat within the first two to three days of fasting.
From Science Daily • May 17, 2026
Sobel likened the sign's removal to "book burning" under Nazi Germany, but without the spectacle.
From Barron's • May 17, 2026
Michelangelo’s burning resentment of Da Vinci kept him warm at night, and his hostility toward Raphael fueled his years-long dedication to tagging up the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling.
From Salon • May 16, 2026
There had been a great burning flash—he had been knocked to the ground by it, sand in his eyes and mouth—and a single moment’s pause; and then the whole Earth shook.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
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.
