burr
1Also buhr. a protruding, ragged edge raised on the surface of metal during drilling, shearing, punching, or engraving.
a rough or irregular protuberance on any object, as on a tree.
a small, handheld, power-driven milling cutter, used by machinists and die makers for deepening, widening, or undercutting small recesses.
a lump of brick fused or warped in firing.
to form a rough point or edge on.
Origin of burr
1- Also bur (for defs. 1, 3) .
Other definitions for burr (2 of 5)
or bur
Origin of burr
2Other definitions for burr (3 of 5)
a pronunciation of the r-sound as a uvular trill, as in certain Northern English dialects.
a pronunciation of the r-sound as an alveolar flap or trill, as in Scottish English.
any pronunciation popularly considered rough or nonurban.
a whirring noise.
to speak with a burr.
to speak roughly, indistinctly, or inarticulately.
to make a whirring sound.
to pronounce (words, sounds, etc.) with a burr.
Origin of burr
3Other definitions for burr (4 of 5)
or buhr
Origin of burr
4Other definitions for Burr (5 of 5)
Aaron, 1756–1836, vice president of the U.S. 1801–05.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use burr in a sentence
Some were blatantly inferior, he said, at times with metal shavings and burrs in the threads.
Patients Screwed in Spine Surgery ‘Scam’ | The Center for Investigative Reporting | November 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt appears that what the sheep do not eat in the way of burrs they gather in their wool, and in that way clean up the farm.
The Red Cow and Her Friends | Peter McArthurIt stopped to nibble a few burrs, and when it was shooed on, it didn't stop to walk around the obstruction.
The Red Cow and Her Friends | Peter McArthurBy much diligence we got the horses that must appear in public free from burrs, but the colts still carry some of their trophies.
The Red Cow and Her Friends | Peter McArthurA lively colt will gather more burrs in ten minutes than an industrious man can pick out of its mane and tail in a day.
The Red Cow and Her Friends | Peter McArthur
You are weel set up in life, laddie, and Heriot's has pulled the warst of the burrs from your tongue.
Greyfriars Bobby | Eleanor Atkinson
British Dictionary definitions for burr (1 of 5)
/ (bɜː) /
a small power-driven hand-operated rotary file, esp for removing burrs or for machining recesses
a rough edge left on a workpiece after cutting, drilling, etc
a rough or irregular protuberance, such as a burl on a tree
British a burl on the trunk or root of a tree, sliced across for use as decorative veneer
a variant spelling of bur
to form a rough edge on (a workpiece)
to remove burrs from (a workpiece) by grinding, filing, etc; deburr
Origin of burr
1British Dictionary definitions for burr (2 of 5)
/ (bɜː) /
phonetics an articulation of (r) characteristic of certain English dialects, esp the uvular fricative trill of Northumberland or the retroflex r of the West of England
a whirring sound
to pronounce (words) with a burr
to make a whirring sound
Origin of burr
2British Dictionary definitions for burr (3 of 5)
bur
/ (bɜː) /
a washer fitting around the end of a rivet
a blank punched out of sheet metal
Origin of burr
3British Dictionary definitions for burr (4 of 5)
buhr or bur
/ (bɜː) /
short for buhrstone
a mass of hard siliceous rock surrounded by softer rock
Origin of burr
4British Dictionary definitions for Burr (5 of 5)
/ (bɜː) /
Aaron . 1756–1836, US vice-president (1800–04), who fled after killing a political rival in a duel and plotted to create an independent empire in the western US; acquitted (1807) of treason
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
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