BURN


Meaning of BURN in English

I. ˈbərn, ˈbə̄n noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English burn, bourne — more at bourn

1. Britain : stream , brook , rivulet

2. chiefly Scotland : water ; especially : water used in brewing

II. ˈbərn, ˈbə̄n, ˈbəin verb

( burned -nd ; or burnt -nt ; or archaic brent or dialect British brunt ; burned or burnt or archaic brent or dialect British brunt ; burning ; burns )

Etymology: Middle English birnen, brinnen, brennen, barnen, from Old English byrnan (intransitive), bærnan (transitive); akin to Old High German brinnan to burn (intransitive), brennen to burn (transitive), Old Norse brenna, brinna (intransitive), brenna (transitive), Gothic brinnan (intransitive), -brannjan (transitive), Latin fervēre to boil, Greek porphyrein to surge, Sanskrit bhurati he quivers

intransitive verb

1.

a.

(1) of fire : to consume fuel and give off light, heat, and gases

a small fire burns on the hearth

(2) of a light source : to give off light

headlights burning bright

b. of fuel : to be on fire : undergo combustion

even green ash burns well

c. : to contain a fire — used of stoves, furnaces, or other devices in which fire is customarily shielded

the stove is burning brightly

2.

a. : to be hot as if on fire

the sand burning under the torrid sun

b. : to become excited by a specified emotion or feeling

burning with curiosity

as

(1) : to yearn ardently

he burned to tell the story

burning to get out into the country

(2) : to become excited sexually

better to marry than to burn — 1 Cor 7:9 (Authorized Version)

— often used with for

(3) : to be or become very angry or utterly disgusted

when I heard what he had done I really burned

— usually used with up

they burned up for fair over his statement

3.

a. : to appear as if on fire : glow brightly

windows that burn in the setting sun

zinnias burning along the fence

b. : to produce a sensation of heat

the blood burned in her cheeks

c. : to produce or undergo discomfort suggestive of the pain accompanying a burn

iodine burns so

the old scar throbbed and burned

sometimes : sting , tingle

our ears are burning with the cold

my arm burned where her softness had passed — Herbert Gold

4.

a. : to become altered by the action of fire or heat

coal burning in the stove

especially : to become charred, scorched, seared, or consumed by excessive heat

the potatoes burned to a crisp

b. : to become affected as if by fire: as

(1) of the skin : to become reddened or irritated by or as if by exposure to sun or wind

(2) of herbage : to become desiccated or withered

(3) of crop plants : to wither or discolor as a result of chemical damage due to excessive or improper use of fertilizers or sprays and dusts

(4) of a rubber compound : scorch

5.

a. : to die by fire especially through execution by burning

b. : to die in the electric chair

c. : to become damned

6. : to force or make a way by or as if by burning — used with into

her words burned into his memory

7. : to be hot in search of an answer or object

8. of a chemical element : to undergo fission or fusion

uranium burns by absorption of neutrons

hydrogen burns to form helium

transitive verb

1.

a. of fire : to consume as fuel in burning — often used with adverbs or phrases of degree or direction

their house was burned down last Saturday

if lightning strikes, the haystack will be burned up in no time

b. : to cause to undergo combustion

burn iron in oxygen

c. : to employ as a source of light or heat

we shall burn oil this year

this hotel burns gas for all cooking and heating

d. of fires or firing devices : to require or use as fuel

this stove burns coal or wood

the new system burns cheap heavy oils

2. : to produce by the action of fire or heat

you'll burn a hole in your sleeve

supplementing their income by burning charcoal for the smelters

3.

a. : to subject to the action of or cause to be consumed by fire

we burned up all the rubbish

pile and burn the brush as you go

as

(1) : to execute by burning

heretics burned by the church

broadly slang : electrocute

(2) : to make an offering of (as incense) by burning

(3) : to mark (as a criminal) by branding

(4) slang : damn

well, I'll be burned

b. : to injure by fire or heat : alter a property of by undue exposure to fire or heat : scorch , scald , blister , sear , singe , char

burn steel in the forging

grass burned brown by the sun

the cook burned the roast

look out, you'll burn your fingers

c.

(1) : to produce a comparable effect upon by an agent other than fire or heat (as by certain radiations, chemicals, or friction)

the sun burned his shoulders badly

overfertilization may burn the plants

his face chapped and burned by the wind

(2) of a rubber compound : scorch

d. : to subject to the action of fire or heat for some economic purpose (as for the alteration or elimination of undesired qualities ; specifically : to transform by the action of controlled fire or heat

burn clay to bricks

burn wood into charcoal

— compare calcine

4.

a. obsolete : to inflame with emotion or passion

b. slang : irritate , annoy

the constant bickering burned her

— usually used with up

he burns me up

c. slang : cheat , befool , do

he surely burnt me over that deal

5.

a. : to wear out : diminish , exhaust

his anger is burning him up

b. : waste , squander , dissipate — usually used as an infinitive

money to burn

c. : to traverse or cause to traverse at high speed — usually used with up

burn up the road

burned up the international cables — Cameron Hawley

6.

a. : to touch or move (a piece) in a manner forbidden by the rules of a game

b. : to expose and then turn (a playing card) face up on the bottom of the pack

c. : to throw (as a baseball) very hard

he burned a fast one over the plate

7. : to join (pieces of metal) by flowing molten metal through or over the joint to be fused until adjacent surfaces soften and unite with the added metal — often used with in, on, or together ; compare lead-burn

8. : to cause (a plating) to become dark or rough because of change in physical or chemical character usually by exposure to excessive current

9. : to cause (a chemical element) to burn

Synonyms:

char , sear , scorch , singe : burn is a general term usable in any situation in which fire or heat has had a positive destructive effect and consequently interchangeable with any of the following except singe in some of its uses. char indicates a burning that reduces to carbon or to cinder

only a few charred planks remaining after the conflagration

a third-degree burn occurs when the flesh is charred

sear typically indicates burning through quick exposure to high heat, with resulting cauterizing, closing of tissues, deadening, branding, or unforgettably impressing

searing the tissues with an electric needle

the roast was first seared, then cooked slowly

the searing effect of the first atomic bombs

scorch indicates superficial burning of exposed surface or area, burning which changes color or texture without consuming

the paint on the garage was scorched by the bonfire

the potatoes at the bottom scorched when the pan went dry

singe implies quick passing over or otherwise exposing to a flame with extremely superficial burning, often with burning only of an integument like hair or feathers

some of the coats on the rack were singed

his hair was singed when the gas flared up

to singe a chicken before cooking it

- burn a hole in one's pocket

- burn daylight

- burn one's bridges

- burn one's ears

- burn one's fingers

- burn the books

- burn the candle at both ends

- burn the midnight oil

- burn the water

- burn the wind

III. noun

( -s )

1. : an injury, damage, or effect produced by burning (as with fire):

a. : bodily injury resulting from exposure to heat, caustics, electricity, or certain radiations, marked by varying degrees of skin destruction and hyperemia often with the formation of watery blisters and in severe cases by charring of the tissues, and classified according to the extent and degree of the injury as first degree, second degree, or third degree

b.

(1) : brand 3a(1)

(2) : branding iron

c. : a burned area

a burn on the table top

especially : an area denuded of vegetation by burning produced deliberately (as in land-clearing) or by chance

poplars coming in on an old burn

d. : an abrasion (as of the skin) having the appearance of a burn

friction burns

cold burn

a floor marred by rubber burn

e. : a burning sensation or appearance

the burn of iodine on a cut

the ruddy burn of her hair

2.

a. : the process, operation, or result of burning

bricks properly baked have a good burn

b. : an instance of burning ; specifically : burning of vegetation from the surface of land

the rate of deterioration after a severe burn was about the same for spruce, balsam, and jackpine — Biological Abstracts

3. : the capacity of ignited tobacco to continue burning without producing a flame

4. : a worn place on a railroad rail caused by the friction of spinning engine drivers

5. slang : anger ; especially : increasing fury — used chiefly in the phrase slow burn

IV. transitive verb

1. : to use up : consume

burn calories

2. : to beat or score on (an opposing team or player)

burned the defense with a touchdown pass

3. : to subject to misfortune or mistreatment — often used in passive

burned in love

banks burned by the financial collapse

V. noun

1. : the firing of a rocket engine in flight

2. slang : an instance of dishonest dealing : swindle : gyp

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.