burn 1 (bûrn) v.
burned or burnt (bûrnt), burn·ing, burns
v.
tr.
To cause to undergo combustion.
To destroy with fire: burned the trash; burn a house down.
To consume (fuel or energy, for example): burned all the wood that winter.
To execute or kill with fire: burning heretics at the stake.
To execute by electrocution.
To make or produce by fire or heat: burn a hole in the rug.
To dispel; dissipate: The sun burned off the fog.
To use as a fuel: a furnace that burns coal.
To metabolize (glucose, for example) in the body.
To irritate or inflame, as by chafing or sunburn.
To let (oneself or a part of one's body) become sunburned.
To defeat in a contest, especially by a narrow margin.
Sports To outplay or score on (an opponent), especially through quick or deceptive movement.
To inflict harm or hardship on; hurt: "Huge loan losses have burned banks in recent years"(Christian Science Monitor).
To swindle or deceive; cheat: We really got burned on the used car we bought.
Physics To cause to undergo nuclear fission or fusion.
To damage or injure by fire, heat, radiation, electricity, or a caustic agent: burned the toast; burned my skin with the acid.
To execute or kill with fire: burning heretics at the stake.
To execute by electrocution.
To make or produce by fire or heat: burn a hole in the rug.
To dispel; dissipate: The sun burned off the fog.
To use as a fuel: a furnace that burns coal.
To metabolize (glucose, for example) in the body.
To irritate or inflame, as by chafing or sunburn.
To let (oneself or a part of one's body) become sunburned.
To defeat in a contest, especially by a narrow margin.
Sports To outplay or score on (an opponent), especially through quick or deceptive movement.
To inflict harm or hardship on; hurt: "Huge loan losses have burned banks in recent years"(Christian Science Monitor).
To swindle or deceive; cheat: We really got burned on the used car we bought.
To make or produce by fire or heat: burn a hole in the rug.
To dispel; dissipate: The sun burned off the fog.
To use as a fuel: a furnace that burns coal.
To metabolize (glucose, for example) in the body.
To irritate or inflame, as by chafing or sunburn.
To let (oneself or a part of one's body) become sunburned.
To defeat in a contest, especially by a narrow margin.
Sports To outplay or score on (an opponent), especially through quick or deceptive movement.
To inflict harm or hardship on; hurt: "Huge loan losses have burned banks in recent years"(Christian Science Monitor).
To swindle or deceive; cheat: We really got burned on the used car we bought.
To use as a fuel: a furnace that burns coal.
To metabolize (glucose, for example) in the body.
To irritate or inflame, as by chafing or sunburn.
To let (oneself or a part of one's body) become sunburned.
To defeat in a contest, especially by a narrow margin.
Sports To outplay or score on (an opponent), especially through quick or deceptive movement.
To inflict harm or hardship on; hurt: "Huge loan losses have burned banks in recent years"(Christian Science Monitor).
To swindle or deceive; cheat: We really got burned on the used car we bought.
To impart a sensation of intense heat to: The chili burned my mouth.
To irritate or inflame, as by chafing or sunburn.
To let (oneself or a part of one's body) become sunburned.
To defeat in a contest, especially by a narrow margin.
Sports To outplay or score on (an opponent), especially through quick or deceptive movement.
To inflict harm or hardship on; hurt: "Huge loan losses have burned banks in recent years"(Christian Science Monitor).
To swindle or deceive; cheat: We really got burned on the used car we bought.
To brand (an animal).
To engrave or make indelible by as or as if by burning: The image of the accident was burned into my memory.
To harden or impart a finish to by subjecting to intense heat; fire: burn clay pots in a kiln.
To make angry: That remark really burns me.
To defeat in a contest, especially by a narrow margin.
Sports To outplay or score on (an opponent), especially through quick or deceptive movement.
To inflict harm or hardship on; hurt: "Huge loan losses have burned banks in recent years"(Christian Science Monitor).
To swindle or deceive; cheat: We really got burned on the used car we bought.
To record data on (a compact disk, for example).
v.
intr.
To undergo combustion.
To admit of burning: Wood burns easily.
To emit heat or light by or as if by fire: campfires burning in the dark; the sun burning brightly in the sky.
To become dissipated or to be dispelled by or as if by heat: The fog burned off as the sun came up.
To be very hot; bake: a desert burning under the midday sun.
To feel or look hot: a child burning with fever.
To impart a sensation of heat: a liniment that burns when first applied.
To become irritated or painful, as by chafing or inflammation: eyes burning from the smoke.
To become sunburned or windburned.
To be or become angry: an insult that really made me burn.
To be very eager: was burning with ambition.
To suffer punishment or death by or as if by fire: souls burning in hell.
To be electrocuted.
To consume fuel: a rocket stage designed to burn for three minutes before being jettisoned.
Physics To undergo nuclear fission or fusion.
To emit heat or light by or as if by fire: campfires burning in the dark; the sun burning brightly in the sky.
To become dissipated or to be dispelled by or as if by heat: The fog burned off as the sun came up.
To be very hot; bake: a desert burning under the midday sun.
To feel or look hot: a child burning with fever.
To impart a sensation of heat: a liniment that burns when first applied.
To become irritated or painful, as by chafing or inflammation: eyes burning from the smoke.
To become sunburned or windburned.
To be or become angry: an insult that really made me burn.
To be very eager: was burning with ambition.
To suffer punishment or death by or as if by fire: souls burning in hell.
To be electrocuted.
To give off light; shine: a light burning over the door.
To be destroyed, injured, damaged, or changed by or as if by fire: a house that burned to the ground; eggs that burned and stuck to the pan.
To be very hot; bake: a desert burning under the midday sun.
To feel or look hot: a child burning with fever.
To impart a sensation of heat: a liniment that burns when first applied.
To become irritated or painful, as by chafing or inflammation: eyes burning from the smoke.
To become sunburned or windburned.
To be or become angry: an insult that really made me burn.
To be very eager: was burning with ambition.
To suffer punishment or death by or as if by fire: souls burning in hell.
To be electrocuted.
To become irritated or painful, as by chafing or inflammation: eyes burning from the smoke.
To become sunburned or windburned.
To be or become angry: an insult that really made me burn.
To be very eager: was burning with ambition.
To suffer punishment or death by or as if by fire: souls burning in hell.
To be electrocuted.
To be consumed with strong emotion, especially:
To be or become angry: an insult that really made me burn.
To be very eager: was burning with ambition.
To suffer punishment or death by or as if by fire: souls burning in hell.
To be electrocuted.
To penetrate by or as if by intense heat or flames: enemy ground radar burning through the fighters' electronic jammers; a look that burned into them.
To be engraved by or as if by burning: shame burning in my heart.
To suffer punishment or death by or as if by fire: souls burning in hell.
To be electrocuted.
n.
An injury produced by fire, heat, radiation, electricity, or a caustic agent.
A burned place or area: a cigarette burn in the tablecloth.
An act, process, or result of burning: The fire settled down to a steady burn.
A sensation of intense heat or stinging pain: a chili burn on the tongue; the burn of alcohol on an open wound.
A sunburn or windburn.
Aerospace A firing of a rocket.
A swindle.
To stop burning from lack of fuel.
To wear out or make or become inoperative as a result of heat or friction: The short circuit burned out the fuse.
To cause (a property owner or a resident) to have to evacuate the premises because of fire: The shopkeeper was burned out by arsonists.
To make or become exhausted, especially as a result of long-term stress: "Hours are long, stress is high, and many recruits drop out or burn out"(Robert J. Samuelson).
To make angry: Their rudeness really burns me up.
To travel over or through at high speed: drag racers burning up the track.
Phrasal Verb(s): burn inTo darken part of (a photograph print) by exposing unmasked areas. burn out
To stop burning from lack of fuel.
To wear out or make or become inoperative as a result of heat or friction: The short circuit burned out the fuse.
To cause (a property owner or a resident) to have to evacuate the premises because of fire: The shopkeeper was burned out by arsonists.
To make or become exhausted, especially as a result of long-term stress: "Hours are long, stress is high, and many recruits drop out or burn out"(Robert J. Samuelson).
burn up
To make angry: Their rudeness really burns me up.
To travel over or through at high speed: drag racers burning up the track.
Idiom(s):
burn (one's) bridgesTo eliminate the possibility of return or retreat.
Idiom(s):
burn the/one's candle at both endsTo exhaust oneself or one's resources by leading a hectic or extravagant life.
Idiom(s):
burn the midnight oilTo work or study very late at night.
Idiom(s):
to burnIn great amounts: They had money to burn.
[Middle English burnen, from Old English beornan, to be on fire, and from bærnan, to set on fire; see gwher- in Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: These verbs mean to injure or alter by means of intense heat or flames. Burn, the most general, applies to the effects of exposure to a source of heat or to something that can produce a similar effect: burned the muffins in the oven. Scorch involves superficial burning that discolors or damages the texture of something: scorched the shirt with the iron. Singe specifies superficial burning and especially the deliberate removal of projections such as feathers from a carcass before cooking: singed my eyelashes when the fire flared up; singed the chicken before roasting it. Sear applies to surface burning of organic tissue: seared the lamb over high heat. To char is to use fire to reduce a substance to carbon or charcoal: wood charred by the fire. Parch in this sense emphasizes the drying and often fissuring of a surface: the hot sun that parched the soil.
(bûrn) 