sunburst

[ suhn-burst ]

/ ˈsʌnˌbɜrst /

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noun

a burst of sunlight; a sudden shining of the sun through rifted clouds.

a firework, piece of jewelry, ornament, or the like, resembling the sun with rays issuing in all directions.

adjective

Sewing. sewn or made to resemble a sunburst; having the rays or lines of design flared from a central point: sunburst pleats; sunburst tucks.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of sunburst

First recorded in 1810–20; sun + burst

Words nearby sunburst

sunblock, sunbonnet, sunbow, sunbreak, sunburn, sunburst, sunburst pleats, Sunbury, Sunbury-on-Thames, sunchoke, sun cream

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sunburst in a sentence

Then the conversation turned upon the feud that existed between Viking and Sunburst, the river-drivers and the fishers.
Mrs. Falchion, Complete|Gilbert Parker
Sunburst lay cloyed among the products of field and forest and stream.
Mrs. Falchion, Complete|Gilbert Parker
I also asked that she would meet me in Sunburst that evening at eight o'clock, at a place indicated by me.
Mrs. Falchion, Complete|Gilbert Parker
No two classes of people could be more unlike than the salmon-fishers of Sunburst and the mill-hands and river-drivers of Viking.
Mrs. Falchion, Complete|Gilbert Parker

Then I went quickly down into the valley,—for I was late,—and trudged eagerly on to Sunburst.
Mrs. Falchion, Complete|Gilbert Parker

British Dictionary definitions for sunburst

sunburst

/ (ˈsʌnˌbɜːst) /

noun

a burst of sunshine, as through a break in the clouds

a pattern or design resembling that of the sun

a jewelled brooch with this pattern

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