burn the midnight oil

burn

1 [burn] verb, burned or burnt, burn·ing, noun
verb (used without object)
1.
to undergo rapid combustion or consume fuel in such a way as to give off heat, gases, and, usually, light; be on fire: The fire burned in the grate.
2.
(of a fireplace, furnace, etc.) to contain a fire.
3.
to feel heat or a physiologically similar sensation; feel pain from or as if from a fire: The wound burned and throbbed.
4.
to give off light or to glow brightly: The lights in the house burned all night.
5.
to give off heat or be hot: The pavement burned in the noon sun.
6.
to produce pain or a stinging sensation similar to that of fire; cause to smart: The whiskey burned in his throat.
7.
Games. to be extremely close to finding a concealed object or guessing an answer.
8.
to feel extreme anger: When she said I was rude, I really burned.
9.
to feel strong emotion or passion: He burned with desire.
10.
Chemistry.
a.
to undergo combustion, either fast or slow; oxidize.
b.
to undergo fission or fusion.
11.
to become charred or overcooked by heat: The steak burned around the edges.
12.
to receive a sunburn: She burns easily and has to stay in the shade.
13.
to be damned: You may burn for that sin.
14.
Slang. to die in an electric chair: The murderer was sentenced to burn.
15.
to be engraved by or as if by burning: His words burned into her heart.
verb (used with object)
16.
to cause to undergo combustion or be consumed partly or wholly by fire.
17.
to use as fuel or as a source of light: He burned coal to heat the house.
18.
to cause to feel the sensation of heat.
19.
to overcook or char: I almost burned the roast.
20.
to sunburn.
21.
to injure, endanger, or damage with or as if with fire: Look out, you'll burn yourself!
22.
to execute by burning: The heretic was burned at the stake.
23.
to subject to fire or treat with heat as a process of manufacturing.
24.
to produce with or as if with fire: She burned a hole in her dress.
25.
to cause sharp pain or a stinging sensation: The iodine burned his cut.
26.
to consume rapidly, especially to squander: He burned energy as if he never heard of resting.
27.
Slang. to suffer losses or be disillusioned in business or social relationships: She was burned by that phony stock deal.
28.
Slang. to cheat or rob.
29.
to copy or write data to (an optical disk): She burned a CD of their favorite songs.
30.
Chemistry. to cause to undergo combustion; oxidize.
31.
to damage through excessive friction, as in grinding or machining; scorch.
32.
Metallurgy. to oxidize (a steel ingot), as with a flame.
33.
British. to scald (a wine, especially sherry) in an iron container over a fire.
34.
Cards. to put (a played or rejected card) face up at the bottom of the pack.
35.
Slang. to disclose the identity of (an undercover agent, law officer, etc.): to burn a narcotics detective.
00:10
Burn the midnight oil is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
noun
36.
a burned place or area: a burn where fire had ripped through the forest.
37.
Pathology. an injury usually caused by heat but also by abnormal cold, chemicals, poison gas, electricity, or lightning, and characterized by a painful reddening and swelling of the epidermis (first-degree burn) damage extending into the dermis, usually with blistering (second-degree burn) or destruction of the epidermis and dermis extending into the deeper tissue with loss of pain receptors (third-degree burn)
38.
slow burn.
39.
the process or an instance of burning or baking, as in brickmaking.
40.
a forest or brush fire.
41.
the firing of a rocket engine.
42.
a burning sensation felt in the muscles during intense exercise (usually preceded by the ): Repeat the sit-ups till you feel the burn in your lower abs.
43.
Slang. a swindle.
Verb phrases
44.
burn down, to burn to the ground: That barn was struck by lightning and burned down.
45.
burn in, Photography. (in printing) to expose (one part of an image) to more light by masking the other parts in order to darken and give greater detail to the unmasked area. Also, print in. Compare dodge ( def 2 ).
46.
burn off, (of morning mist) to be dissipated by the warmth of the rising sun.
47.
burn on, to weld lead with lead.
48.
burn one up, Informal. to incite to anger: That attitude burns me up.
49.
burn out,
a.
to cease functioning because something has been exhausted or burned up, as fuel or a filament: Our light bulbs burned out.
b.
to deprive of a place to live, work, etc., by reason of fire: They were burned out and had to live with relatives.
c.
to wear out; exhaust; be worn out; become exhausted.
50.
burn up,
a.
to burn completely or utterly: The papers burned up in a minute.
b.
Informal. to become angry: He burns up at the mention of her name.
Idioms
51.
burn one's bridges (behind one). bridge1 ( def 26 ).
52.
burn oneself out, to exhaust one's energy, ideas, etc., through overwork or intemperance: They feared that he would burn himself out or break down.
53.
burn the midnight oil, to work, study,etc., until late at night: to burn the midnight oil before final exams.
54.
burn the/one's candle at both ends, to be excessively active or immoderate, as by leading an active social life by night and a busy work life by day: You can't burn the candle at both ends and hold onto a job.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English bernen, brennen, Old English beornan (intransitive), (cognate with Gothic, Old High German brinnan), and Old English bærnan (transitive), (cognate with Gothic brannjan, Old High German brennen)

Related forms
burn·a·ble, adjective
half-burned, adjective
non·burn·a·ble, adjective
un·burn·a·ble, adjective
un·burned, adjective
well-burned, adjective

Synonyms
1. flame. 3. tingle, glow. 16. char, toast, brown, tan. Burn, scorch, sear, singe refer to the effect of fire or heat. To burn is to consume, wholly or in part, by contact with fire or excessive heat: to burn leaves. Scorch implies superficial or slight burning, resulting in a change of color or in injury to the texture because of shriveling or curling: to scorch a dress while ironing. Sear refers especially to the drying or hardening caused by heat: to sear a roast of meat. Singe applies especially to a superficial burning that takes off ends or projections: to singe hair; singe the pinfeathers from a chicken.
Dictionary.com Unabridged

mid·night

[mid-nahyt]
noun
1.
the middle of the night; twelve o'clock at night.
adjective
2.
of or pertaining to midnight.
3.
resembling midnight, as in darkness.
Idioms
4.
burn the midnight oil, to study or work far into the night: After months of burning the midnight oil, he really needed a vacation.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English; Old English midniht. See mid-, night

Related forms
mid·night·ly, adjective, adverb
post·mid·night, adjective
pre·mid·night, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To burn the midnight oil
Collins
World English Dictionary
burn1 (bɜːn) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—vb , burns, burning, burnt, burned
1.  to undergo or cause to undergo combustion
2.  to destroy or be destroyed by fire
3.  (tr) to damage, injure, or mark by heat: he burnt his hand; she was burnt by the sun
4.  to die or put to death by fire: to burn at the stake
5.  (intr) to be or feel hot: my forehead burns
6.  to smart or cause to smart: brandy burns one's throat
7.  (intr) to feel strong emotion, esp anger or passion
8.  (tr) to use for the purposes of light, heat, or power: to burn coal
9.  (tr) to form by or as if by fire: to burn a hole
10.  to char or become charred: the potatoes are burning in the saucepan
11.  (tr) to brand or cauterize
12.  (tr) to cut (metal) with an oxygen-rich flame
13.  to produce by or subject to heat as part of a process: to burn charcoal
14.  (tr) to copy information onto (a CD-ROM)
15.  astronomy to convert (a lighter element) to a heavier one by nuclear fusion in a star: to burn hydrogen
16.  chiefly (Brit) cards to discard or exchange (one or more useless cards)
17.  informal (tr; usually passive) to cheat, esp financially
18.  slang chiefly (US) to electrocute or be electrocuted
19.  slang (Austral) (tr) to drive fast (esp in the phrase go for a burn)
20.  burn one's bridges, burn one's boats to commit oneself to a particular course of action with no possibility of turning back
21.  burn the candle at both ends See candle
22.  burn one's fingers to suffer from having meddled or been rash
 
—n
23.  an injury caused by exposure to heat, electrical, chemical, or radioactive agents. Burns are classified according to the depth of tissue affected: first-degree burn: skin surface painful and red; second-degree burn: blisters appear on the skin; third-degree burn: destruction of both epidermis and dermis
24.  a mark, e.g. on wood, caused by burning
25.  a controlled use of rocket propellant, esp for a course correction
26.  a hot painful sensation in a muscle, experienced during vigorous exercise: go for the burn!
27.  (Austral), (NZ) a controlled fire to clear an area of scrub
28.  slang tobacco or a cigarette
 
[Old English beornan (intr), bærnan (tr); related to Old Norse brenna (tr or intr), Gothic brinnan (intr), Latin fervēre to boil, seethe]

burn2 (bɜːn, Scottish bʌrn) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
(Scot), (Northern English) a small stream; brook
 
[Old English burna; related to Old Norse brunnr spring, Old High German brunno, Lithuanian briáutis to burst forth]

midnight (ˈmɪdˌnaɪt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  a.  the middle of the night; 12 o'clock at night
 b.  (as modifier): the midnight hour
2.  burn the midnight oil to work or study late into the night
 
'midnightly
 
—adj, —adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

midnight
O.E. mid-niht, or middre niht (with dative). Midnight oil symbolizing "late night work" is attested from 1635.

burn
12c., combination of O.N. brenna "to burn, light," and two originally distinct O.E. verbs: bærnan "to kindle" (trans.) and beornan "to be on fire" (intrans.), both from P.Gmc. *brennan, *branajan (cf. M.Du. bernen, Du. branden, O.H.G. brinnan, Ger. brennen, Goth. brannjan), perhaps from PIE *gwher-
"to heat, warm" (see warm), or from PIE *bhre-n-u, from base *bhreue- "to boil forth, well up" (see brew). Related: Burned; burning. Figuratively (of passions, battle, etc.) in O.E. Meaning "cheat, swindle, victimize" is first attested 1650s. As a noun, from 1520s. Slow burn first attested 1938, in reference to U.S. movie actor Edgar Kennedy, who made it his specialty. To burn one's bridges (behind one) "behave so as to destroy any chance of returning to a status quo" attested by 1892 in Mark Twain, perhaps ultimately from cavalry raids in the Civil War. Slavic languages have historically used different and unrelated words for the transitive and intransitive senses of "set fire to"/"be on fire:" cf. Pol. palic'/gorsec, Rus. eč'/gorel.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

burn (bûrn)
v. burned or burnt (bûrnt), burn·ing, burns

  1. To undergo or cause to undergo combustion.

  2. To consume or use as fuel or energy.

  3. To damage or injure by fire, heat, radiation, electricity, or a caustic agent.

  4. To irritate or inflame, as by chafing or sunburn.

  5. To become sunburned or windburned.

  6. To metabolize a substance, such as glucose, in the body.

  7. To impart a sensation of intense heat to.

  8. To feel or look hot.

n.

  1. An injury produced by fire, heat, radiation, electricity, or a caustic agent.

  2. A burned place or area.

  3. The process or result of burning.

  4. A stinging sensation.

  5. A sunburn or windburn.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
burn   (bûrn)  Pronunciation Key 
Verb  

  1. To be on fire; undergo combustion. A substance burns if it is heated up enough to react chemically with oxygen.

  2. To cause a burn to a bodily tissue.


Noun   Tissue injury caused by fire, heat, radiation (such as sun exposure), electricity, or a caustic chemical agent. Burns are classified according to the degree of tissue damage, which can include redness, blisters, skin edema and loss of sensation. Bacterial infection is a serious and sometimes fatal complication of severe burns.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

burn the midnight oil definition


To stay awake late at night to work or study: “Jill has been burning the midnight oil lately; I guess she has a big exam coming up.”

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary

burn definition


  1. n.
    a cigarette. : Fred just stood there with a burn on his lower lip and his hands in his pockets.
  2. tv.
    to smoke a cigarette. : I need to burn a fag. Just a minute.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

burn the midnight oil

Stay up late working or studying, as in The semester is almost over and we're all burning the midnight oil before exams. This expression alludes to the oil in oil lamps. [Early 1600s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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