sunburn

[ suhn-burn ]

/ ˈsʌnˌbɜrn /

noun

inflammation of the skin caused by overexposure to the sun or a sunlamp.

verb (used with or without object), sun·burned or sun·burnt, sun·burn·ing.

to affect or be affected with sunburn: An hour in the sun sunburned me severely. I sunburn easily.

Nearby words

sunbird, sunblock, sunbonnet, sunbow, sunbreak, sunburn, sunburst, sunburst pleats, sunbury, sunbury-on-thames, sunchoke

Origin of sunburn

First recorded in 1520–30; sun + burn¹

Related forms

un·sun·burned, adjectiveun·sun·burnt, adjectivewell-sun·burned, adjectivewell-sun·burnt, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sunburn

Here's one way to avoid a sunburn: wear a Face-Kini next time you're on the beach.
Here's The Face-Kini, Summer's Craziest New Trend|Isabel Wilkinson|August 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The three men by the rail were working like mad, their faces livid under the sunburn and their hands trembling.
Keziah Coffin|Joseph C. Lincoln
For sunburn boil in butter tender ivy twigs, smear therewith.
The Old English Herbals|Eleanour Sinclair Rohde
He was a beautiful youth, with a face almost feminine, to which anger and sunburn added charm.
The Pharaoh and the Priest|Alexander Glovatski

His teeth were clenched; his face, through the sunburn, livid; the blue of his eyes seemed to have faded into an ashen grey.
With Edged Tools|Henry Seton Merriman
All the tan and sunburn had been washed from Freckles' face in sweats of agony.
Freckles|Gene Stratton-Porter

British Dictionary definitions for sunburn

sunburn

/ (ˈsʌnˌbɜːn) /

noun

inflammation of the skin caused by overexposure to the sunTechnical name: erythema solare

another word for suntan

Derived Forms

sunburnt or sunburned, adjective

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

Medicine definitions for sunburn

sunburn

[ sŭn′bûrn′ ]

n.

Inflammation and erythema of the skin, often with blistering, caused by overexposure to the ultraviolet rays of direct sunlight.

Related forms

sun′burn′ v.