burn

SayBURN/bɝn/UK/bɜːn/

Verbburns, burning, burned

Noun pluralburns

41 meanings of burn

Practice

1
be on fireverbintransitive
To be on fire, or to set something on fire so it is destroyed.
Like a piece of paper turning to ash when you hold a match to it.
The dry logs burn quickly in the fireplace.
We watched the old barn burning all night.
UsageSay burned or burnt. A house burns down.
Similarblaze, flame
2
verbtransitive
To make something join with oxygen or another chemical and give off heat.
Like a candle using up wax to make heat and light.
The furnace burns coal to heat the building.
When we burn steel wool in class, it gets heavier because it joins with oxygen.
Similarconsume, oxidize
Note
3
verbtransitive
To damage or change something the way fire or heat would.
The icy wind burned their faces on the climb.
Bright sun can burn the leaves of young plants.
Similarscorch, blight, wither, nip
Note
4
a skin injurynouncountable or uncountable
An injury to the skin or body caused by heat, cold, rubbing, electricity, radiation, or strong chemicals.
Like the red, sore mark left when you touch something very hot.
She got a nasty burn from the hot pan.
The doctor treated his burn with cool water.
UsageYou get a burn from something hot.
5
injure skinverbtransitive
To hurt a person or animal with heat or strong chemicals.
Hot oil can burn your skin in seconds.
She burned her hand on the stove.
UsageSay I burned my hand on the pan.
Similarscald, scorch, sear
6
nouncountable or uncountable
The act of setting fire to something.
The controlled burn cleared the dead grass from the field.
Firefighters watched over the burn until the last embers died.
7
verbintransitive
Of a body part, to hurt with a hot, stinging pain, or of a spice or chemical, to cause that pain.
My eyes burn when I cut onions.
The hot sauce burned all the way down.
UsageSay my eyes burn.
Similarsting, smart
8
stinging feelingnouncountable or uncountable
A hot, stinging or aching feeling, sometimes felt in your muscles during hard exercise.
The chili sauce left a burn on my tongue.
She felt a sharp burn where the rope had slipped through her hands.
Similarsting, ache
9
spoil by overheatingverbtransitive
To ruin something, such as food or a machine, by making it too hot, or to be ruined this way.
You can burn the motor if you run it without oil.
Stir the rice often so it does not burn on the bottom of the pot.
10
verbintransitive
Of a light, fire, or color, to give off a strong, bright glow, like a lamp that is left on.
A lamp burned in the kitchen window all night.
The trees on our street burn orange and red every October.
Similarglow, shine, blaze
11
long forverbintransitive
To want something very strongly.
Like being so hungry for something that you can think of nothing else.
Many young players burn for a chance to prove themselves.
She burned to see her home again after years away.
Similaryearn, long, hunger, thirst, ache
Note
12
verbtransitive
To copy data onto a disc or chip so it stays there for good.
Like writing words in ink that can't be erased.
I need to burn these photos onto a DVD.
She burned the music files onto a blank CD.
UsageYou burn music onto a CD.
Similarwrite, copy, flash
Note
13
wasteverbtransitive
To use up time, money, or other things in a careless way.
Like throwing away food before you even taste it.
They burned a whole afternoon waiting in line.
Don't burn all your money on things you don't need.
UsageMoney to burn means a lot of spare money.
Similarsquander, fritter
Oppositesave, conserve
Note

Less common meanings

14
verbcolloquialtransitive
To make someone lose money or be harmed, often by cheating them or through a bad deal.
Be careful with that seller, or he will burn you.
I got burned when I bought a used car that broke down a week later.
UsagePeople say I got burned after a bad deal.
Similarcheat, sting, swindle, con
15
redden in sunverbtransitive or intransitive
To get sore, red skin from too much sun.
Fair-skinned people burn easily at the beach.
I always burn if I forget sunscreen.
UsageSay I burn easily in the sun.
Similarredden
16
verbtransitive
To use up fuel or energy to make heat or power, like your body using calories.
A long bike ride can burn a lot of calories.
Our old car burns too much gas on the highway.
Similarconsume, use
17
clever insultnounslangcountable or uncountable
A clever insult that makes someone look foolish.
That comeback was a brutal burn.
Everyone laughed at his perfect burn.
Similardig, zinger, put-down, insult, diss
Oppositecompliment
Note
18
verbslangtransitive
To make someone look foolish with a sharp insult, or to beat them easily.
She burned him with one quick comeback.
Don't try to burn me in front of my friends.
Similarroast, destroy, crush, trounce, own
Note
19
nouncountable
A mark or hole made in something by fire or something hot.
There's a burn on the table where someone put down a hot pan.
My favorite shirt has a burn from the iron.
Similarscorch
Note
20
betrayverbslangtransitive
To betray someone who trusts you.
Like a friend who tells your secret to someone who can hurt you.
He burned his best friend to save himself.
Don't trust her. She'll burn you the moment it helps her.
Similarbetray, double-cross, shop, grass
Note
21
feel hotverbintransitive
To feel very hot, often from a strong feeling like shame.
Like the warm feeling on your face when you feel shy.
Her face burned with shame after she tripped.
I feel my ears burn whenever someone praises me.
UsageSay burn with shame.
Similarflush, blush, glow, redden
Note
22
emotional stingnounslangcountable or uncountable
The sharp, painful feeling left by shame or a strong insult.
Like the sting of a slap that you keep feeling long after it lands.
The burn of embarrassment stayed with her for days.
He felt the burn of the insult long after the argument.
Similarsting, pain, hurt, wound
Note
23
disc writingnouncountable or uncountable
The act of copying data onto a disc or chip so it stays there.
Like saving a file so it stays even after you turn off the computer.
My laptop froze halfway through the burn, and the CD was ruined.
Always check the data after each burn.
Note
24
produce by heatverbtransitive
To make something by using fire or strong heat.
The villagers burned charcoal in the woods to sell in town.
Workers burn bricks in a big oven until they are hard.
Similarfire, bake, char
Note
25
verbtransitive
To seal a wound or destroy tissue using heat.
Like using a hot tool to seal the end of a cut rope so it doesn't come apart.
The doctor burned the wound to stop the bleeding.
Surgeons sometimes burn small blood vessels to seal them.
Similarcauterize, sear
Note
26
nuclear fusionverbintransitive
Of an element, to turn into another element through nuclear fusion, or of a star, to use an element this way.
Like one kind of building block slowly turning into a different one.
In the sun's core, hydrogen burns into helium.
Stars shine because light elements burn deep inside them.
Similarfuse
Note
27
rocket firingnouncountable or uncountable
A short firing of a spacecraft's engines to change where it is going.
Like a quick push that steers a toy boat a new way.
The crew waited for the next burn to adjust their path.
A short burn pushed the capsule into a higher orbit.
Similarfiring
Note
28
verbtransitive
To expose a secret agent's false identity.
Like telling everyone someone's secret name so they can't hide anymore.
One careless photo burned the spy's cover.
A double agent can burn an entire network.
Similarexpose, compromise, unmask, out
Note
29
darken photoverbtransitive
To make part of a photo darker on purpose.
Like shading part of a drawing with a darker pencil.
She burned the sky to bring out the clouds.
You can burn the corners to draw the eye inward.
Similardarken
Oppositedodge
Note
30
noundialectalNorthern EnglandScotlandcountable
In Scotland and the north of England, a big stream.
The children paddled in the burn behind the farm.
The sheep drink from the burn at the bottom of the hill.
Similarstream, brook
Note
31
gun downverbslangtransitive
To shoot a person with a gun.
The gunman burned two men before fleeing.
He pulled a gun and swore to burn anyone who ran.
Similarshoot, plug, smoke
Note
32
blackmailverbtransitive
To force someone to do something by threatening to reveal a secret.
Similarblackmail, coerce
Note
33
verb
To fix subtitles permanently into a video so they cannot be turned off.
34
nounslangUK
Tobacco, especially in British prisons.
35
noun
The heating or baking of something such as bricks, or what comes out of it.
36
noun
A plant disease that makes crops look scorched.
37
verbdated
Of chemicals, to react strongly and give off heat.
38
verb
In a hiding game, to be very close to the hidden thing.
39
verb
In curling, to touch a moving stone by mistake.
40
verb
In pontoon, to exchange two cards for two new ones, or deal a card that cannot be played.
41
verbslang
To throw away a card in a card game.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of burn apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–29, 31–32

From Middle English, partly from Old Norse, and it replaced the Old English words for burning. It goes back to an old root meaning 'to boil.'

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

Burn derives from Middle English. en.wiktionary.org
Its ancestry is partly Old Norse. en.wiktionary.org
Burn replaced the corresponding Old English verbs. en.wiktionary.org
The verb ultimately derives from a reconstructed root meaning 'to boil'. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 30

From an Old English word meaning "spring" or "fountain," so it means a small stream.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

Burn descends from an Old English word glossed as spring or fountain. en.wiktionary.org