burton

¹ American  

[bur-tn] / ˈbɜr tn /

noun

Nautical.

1. any of various small tackles for use on shipboard.

2. Spanish burton.

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burton ² American  

[bur-tn] / ˈbɜr tn /

verb phrase

1. go for a burton

   1. to be lost, missing, or destroyed.

   2. to die.

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Burton ³ American  

[bur-tn] / ˈbɜr tn /

noun

1. Harold Hitz 1888–1964, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1945–58.

2. Sir Richard Richard Jenkins, 1925–84, English actor, born in Wales.

3. Sir Richard Francis, 1821–90, English explorer, Orientalist, and writer.

4. Robert Democritus Junior, 1577–1640, English clergyman and author.

5. a town in central Michigan.

6. a male given name.

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Burton ¹ British  

/ ˈbɜːtən /

noun

1. Sir Richard Francis . 1821–90, English explorer, Orientalist, and writer who discovered Lake Tanganyika with John Speke (1858); produced the first unabridged translation of The Thousand Nights and a Night (1885–88)

2. Richard , real name Richard Jenkins . 1925–84, Welsh stage and film actor: films include Becket (1964), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), and Equus (1977)

3. Robert , pen name Democritus Junior . 1577–1640, English clergyman, scholar, and writer, noted for his Anatomy of Melancholy (1621)

4. Tim. born 1958, US film director whose work includes Beetlejuice (1988), Batman (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Ed Wood (1994), Corpse Bride (2005), and Alice in Wonderland (2010)

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burton ² British  

/ ˈbɜːtən /

noun

1. nautical a kind of light hoisting tackle

2. slang

   1. to be broken, useless, or lost

   2. to die

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Etymology

Origin of burton¹

1695–1705; probably by metathesis from Breton ( takles ), Brytton ( takles ) (late 15th cent.); Breton, Briton

Origin of burton²

First recorded in 1940–45; origin unclear

Example Sentences

Award-winning classical music broadcaster Sir Humphrey Burton has died at the age of 94.

From BBC

Mr. Lewis is a biographer who seems to have abandoned hope that biography is possible, yet still he perseveres, in idiosyncratic fashion—viewing the films in which Burton and Taylor jointly appeared as commentaries on their relationship, and also hunting for similar clues in films such as “Where Eagles Dare,” in which only one of them starred.

From The Wall Street Journal

One gray morning this week, the quest for something better drew representatives of U.S. utility Southern Co. to an industrial park near Burton upon Trent, England, to observe an early test of a battery they plan to trial next year in Alabama.

From The Wall Street Journal

He and Roger Bull, who runs the Burton plant, had strikingly different routes to their battery obsession.

From The Wall Street Journal

Jonathan Anderson, creative director of Dior, was named designer of the year, with Grace Wales Bonner taking home British menswear designer of the year Givenchy's creative director Sarah Burton winning the British womenswear designer award.

From BBC