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Showing results for sunburn. Search instead for sun burn.

sunburn

American  
[suhn-burn] / ˈsʌnˌbɜrn /

noun

  • sunburns
    plural
  1. inflammation of the skin caused by overexposure to the sun or a sunlamp.


verb (used with or without object)

sunburned, sunburnt, sunburning
  1. to affect or be affected with sunburn.

    An hour in the sun sunburned me severely. I sunburn easily.

sunburn British  
/ ˈsʌnˌbɜːn /

noun

  1. Technical name: erythema solare.  inflammation of the skin caused by overexposure to the sun

  2. another word for suntan

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of sunburn

First recorded in 1520–30; sun + burn 1

Vocabulary lists containing sunburn

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:

"As a result, many apples are dropping from the trees prematurely, remaining very small, or suffering from sunburn damage," the agency said.

From Barron's Aug. 18, 2026

She had taken a photo of her burned skin; Miller claims that that was a sunburn.

From Slate Aug. 3, 2026

Zinc oxide is widely used in mineral sunscreen because it blocks UVA rays, which contribute to skin aging, as well as UVB rays, which cause sunburn and increase the risk of skin cancer.

From Science Daily Jul. 20, 2026

It brings the risk of impacts to health, especially for vulnerable people, and the danger of sunburn and heat exhaustion in the wider population.

From BBC Jun. 19, 2026

His face had gone very pale under its sunburn.

From "Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbit

Although many people associate UV light with sunburns and skin damage, it plays an important role in numerous technologies.

From Science Daily Jun. 26, 2026

Wearing white cowboy hats and sunburns, they were there to scout sites for future artwork, which they would go on to build, blast out and assemble on an epic scale over the next decade.

From The Wall Street Journal Mar. 15, 2026

There are currently claims that seed oils cause cancer, gut issues and depression, or can leave you with chronic inflammation or make you more vulnerable to sunburns.

From Salon Jul. 29, 2024

Heat-related illnesses can range from sunburns and heat rashes to more dangerous conditions such as heat exhaustion and heatstroke, according to the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 30, 2023

Current Mr. O’Doyle was much larger, with less hair and red peeling skin from sunburns.

From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles

Whispers were going around the sunburned, sleepy crowds huddled on their suitcases that there were no flights until Monday.

From The Wall Street Journal Jan. 6, 2026

Four hours later, sunburned and more winded than I like to admit, I reached a hamlet where I later hitched a ride back to the city.

From Los Angeles Times Nov. 28, 2025

You should not put petroleum jelly or ice on sunburned skin.

From BBC Jun. 30, 2025

A group of older sunburned guys, arms overloaded with coolers and fishing gear, jogged awkwardly toward a party fishing boat that appeared to be on the verge of pulling out for the night.

From Slate Feb. 4, 2024

A thwack on Frank’s back from a guy a full head taller than him, with a thick beard, a loud voice, and a face sunburned bright red just like Frank’s.

From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers

"There is one thing we all agree on, that you've got to avoid sunburning and avoid overexposure," he said.

From Reuters Apr. 19, 2010

If thou canst love a     fellow of this temper, Kate, whose face is not worth sunburning,     that never looks in his glass for love of anything he sees there,     let thine eye be thy cook.

From The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare

“An’ did ye see the murthering baste?” cried Dinny, who looked white through his sunburning.

From Off to the Wilds Being the Adventures of Two Brothers by Henri Théophile Hildibrand

“Dinny! how can you!” cried Jack, angrily, as he saw the tears start into his brother’s eyes, and that in spite of the sunburning he turned haggard and pale.

From Off to the Wilds Being the Adventures of Two Brothers by Henri Théophile Hildibrand

It is so desirable to make outbuildings neat and clean, and so important to keep trees from sunburning, etc., that a durable whitewash as cheaply and easily made as possible is very important.

From One Thousand Questions in California Agriculture Answered by Edward J. (Edward James) Wickson

Would you buy a cauliflower that looks like it's been sunburnt or a cucumber that's curled back on itself?

From BBC Aug. 11, 2026

We depend on our cells being able to divide and multiply, whether it's to replace sunburnt skin or replenish our blood supply and recover from injury.

From Science Daily Apr. 11, 2024

Legs tucked underneath me as my head lolled to the side, my whole body buzzed with sunburnt warmth and fatigue from a day of walking through echo-y museum hallways and cobblestoned streets across Paris.

From Salon Jun. 25, 2023

Mom is claiming that getting sunburnt is a necessary condition for spending all day in the sun.

From Textbooks Jun. 15, 2022

His cheeks looked slightly sunburnt and his lips a bit chapped.

From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart

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