An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; apparently from proper name
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A field of burley tobacco at Tucker Farms in Bagdad, Ky.Credit...
From New York Times ● Nov. 22, 2021
Wagner met Dillon at the line but the burley 247-pound second-year running back carried him into the end zone.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 14, 2021
It also has burley wheels with super-wide-flange hubs, a dropper seat post, and a low center of gravity for great handling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2018
That’s how 60-year-old Laura Donnelly ended up running alongside burley, tattooed men.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 8, 2016
There we could grow our own burley tobacco to sell, along with maize and other vegetables to eat.
From "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" by William Kamkwamba
Burley said Jones won over the room instantly, adding: "I said I think we found our Mariette".
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
Federal Court judge Stephen Burley described how four large open-pit mines, a railway, tailings dam, waste dumps and a stockpile were strewn across the lands of the Yindjibarndi people in Western Australia's Pilbara region.
From Barron's ● May 12, 2026
The Nuton name plays on Isaac Newton, the alchemist, as well as the hunt for “a new ton” of copper, which had become elusive via deal or discovery, Burley said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 2, 2025
Laura Burley, plastics campaign lead at Greenpeace UK told the BBC that the combination of plastic and electrical components made fast tech "a toxic cocktail that is very hard to recycle".
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2025
That night, as we made ready to sleep, Bear informed me that on the following day we would reach a village by the name of Burley.
From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi
Trailers, which are sometimes called burleys, are easy to use and the safest choice for toddlers, says Anne Mader, co-owner of the Bike Lane, a shop with locations in Reston and Springfield.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 23, 2020
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.
