burp
Americannoun
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burps
plural
verb (used without object)
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burps,
present (3rd person singular)
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burped,
past participle, past
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burping
present participle
verb (used with object)
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burps,
present (3rd person singular)
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burped,
past participle, past
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burping
present participle
noun
verb
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informal (intr) to belch
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(tr) to cause (a baby) to burp to relieve flatulence after feeding
Usage
What does burp mean? A burp is the often noisy instance of stomach gas being released through the mouth. It often happens after you eat or especially after you drink a bubbly drink like soda. Burp can also be used as a verb meaning to release gas in such a way, as in I burped right in the middle of the meeting—it was so embarrassing. Burping is common and normal, but it’s often considered rude to burp in public, especially to do so loudly. It’s typically considered the polite thing to do to try to cover up a burp. A synonym for both the noun and verb sense of burp is belch, which is a bit more formal. The technical medical term for burping or a burp is eructation. The verb form of this is eruct. As a verb, burp can also mean to help a baby to burp, as in I always enjoyed burping my babies after they drank their bottle—it’s so satisfying to get a big burp out! Babies are burped to prevent the buildup of gas. Usually, burping is done by gently patting the baby’s back. Burp is also sometimes used in a figurative way in the context of a thing releasing gas or air or something else, especially in a messy way. A volcano can be said to burp out fumes. You can burp a food storage container—let the excess air out of it—by quickly opening and closing the lid. Example: My grandfather loved to conclude his dinner by unleashing a loud burp to signal his satisfaction.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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burpsimple
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burpssimple
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have burpedperfect
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has burpedperfect
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am burpingprogressive
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are burpingprogressive
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is burpingprogressive
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have been burpingperfect progressive
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has been burpingperfect progressive
Past
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burpedsimple
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had burpedperfect
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was burpingprogressive
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were burpingprogressive
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had been burpingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of burp
An Americanism first recorded in 1930–35; imitative
Explanation
A burp is a belch, or the loud release of trapped air loudly through your mouth. The sound of a burp during a quiet moment makes some people frown and others giggle. The sound you make when you reflexively let air or gas escape from your mouth is a burp — and to make this noise is to burp. The typical cause of a burp is swallowed air, with some people being able to gulp air and make themselves burp on purpose. Drinking fizzy soda can also make you burp. The word comes from the sound of a burp — it's imitative, and it first appeared in the 1930s.
Vocabulary lists containing burp
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.
See Examples For:
Excuse them, like they popped out of his mouth like an errant burp.
From Slate ● May 6, 2026
Chief emission culprits are livestock farming, particularly cattle, which release planet-warming methane when they burp.
From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2025
Livestock account for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with the largest portion coming from methane that cattle release when they burp.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 2, 2024
R-CPD, also known as "no burp syndrome", occurs when the cricopharyngeal muscle in the throat is unbale to relax to allow gas to pass upwards.
From BBC ● Dec. 20, 2023
Some of the rules in my collection are easy and always: Say excuse me.' after you burp.
From "Rules" by Cynthia Lord
Even under the worst kind of duress, they don’t want to flee their homes, their belongings, certainly not their families, despite the threatening burps of Vesuvius.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
There are farts and burps for laughs, but mostly the show is about self-love and acceptance — about how goodness can and will prevail, even in the darkest of circumstances.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2025
That would deliver climate benefits on top of the reduction of animal agriculture's more direct emissions sources: manure and cow burps.
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2024
A slew of research aims to curb bovine burps by feeding them seaweed, essential oils, and even a bovine Beano of sorts.
From Scientific American ● Nov. 7, 2023
Her grandmother Lucy had told her that a lady never sneezes, burps, runs, screams, or cries in public.
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
For years, it was unclear why, but a new study suggests jet expulsions of hot matter burped out like cosmic cannonballs are behind it.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2023
Barrymore who was at the head of the table, burped every few minutes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2023
One British company has even developed a wearable harness for cows that oxidizes methane as it’s burped out.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 13, 2022
The cows had burped out so much methane that it could be seen from space.
From NewsForKids.net ● May 6, 2022
At the far end of the table, Halsey Crunk burped loudly.
From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older
It’s just like clockwork, if I have any solids during the day of the show, around song seven, I start burping.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
“He wasn’t eating, constantly coughing and burping and was just uncomfortable, but you just put your trust in the medical staff,” he added.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2024
Mulaney, 42, also shared the same hospital photo on his Instagram grid and added a short video of their daughter spitting up on him while he was burping her.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2024
Doctors also aren’t sure why many patients keep burping long after the Botox wears off after a few months.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2024
Ian and his basketball friends were in the corner, burping the alphabet.
From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy
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.
