INDEX:
1. to burn something
2. to burn yourself
3. to make something start burning
4. to make something stop burning
5. to stop burning
6. when something is burning
7. when something starts burning
8. to be destroyed by fire
9. something that burns easily
10. something that does not burn easily
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ FIRE
↑ HOT
↑ EXPLODE
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1. to burn something
▷ burn /bɜːʳn/ [transitive verb]
to damage or destroy something with fire or heat :
▪ She lit a fire and burned his letters one by one.
burn a hole in something
make a hole by burning it
▪ Someone had dropped a cigarette and burned a hole in the carpet.
burn something to a crisp/cinder
destroy something completely by burning it
▪ Most of his possessions had been burnt to a cinder.
burnt/burned /bɜːʳnt, bɜːʳnd/ [adjective]
▪ The cake is slightly burnt, I’m afraid.
▷ burn down /ˌbɜːʳn ˈdaʊn/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to completely destroy a building by burning it :
burn down something
▪ Police believe students are responsible for burning down the school.
burn something down
▪ Her ex-husband threatened to burn the house down with her and the kids inside.
▷ incinerate /ɪnˈsɪnəreɪt/ [transitive verb usually in passive]
to destroy unwanted things by burning them in a special machine :
▪ Household waste is usually incinerated after it has been collected.
▪ All the clothes that were affected by radiation had to be incinerated.
▷ scorch /skɔːʳtʃ/ [transitive verb]
to burn the surface of something and leave a dark mark on it :
▪ The heater was left on all night and it scorched the wall.
▪ Having the iron on a very high heat can scorch the fabric.
scorch mark /ˈskɔːʳtʃ mɑːʳk/ [countable noun]
▪ This shirt is ruined - there’s a big scorch mark on the back.
▷ singe /sɪndʒ/ [transitive verb]
to damage something such as hair, wool, or paper by burning it slightly so that the ends or edges are burnt :
▪ The flames were hot enough to singe your eyebrows.
▪ The rug was singed by a piece of burning coal that had fallen from the fire.
▷ charred /tʃɑːʳd/ [adjective usually before noun]
wood, sticks, bones etc that are charred are black because they have been damaged by burning :
▪ In the cave they found some charred animal bones.
▪ It was nearly impossible to recognize the charred bodies.
2. to burn yourself
▷ burn /bɜːʳn/ [transitive verb]
if you burn yourself, you hurt yourself by accidentally touching something hot :
burn yourself
▪ Don’t touch the iron. You’ll burn yourself.
burn your mouth/fingers/arm etc
▪ She burnt her arm on a camping stove.
be badly/severely/seriously burned/burnt
▪ Jerry was badly burned in the explosion.
burn [countable noun]
a mark on your skin where you have been burned :
▪ The child had cigarette burns on his arms and legs.
severe/serious burns
▪ Billy was taken to the hospital with severe burns.
minor burns
not serious
▪ Jones suffered only minor burns when her house was set ablaze last week.
▷ scald /skɔːld/ [transitive verb]
to burn yourself with very hot liquid or steam :
scald yourself
▪ If you’re not careful you’ll scald yourself on/with that kettle.
scald your arm/leg/hand etc
▪ The hot coffee nearly scalded his tongue.
3. to make something start burning
▷ set fire to something/set something on fire /set ˈfaɪəʳ tə something, ˌset something ɒn ˈfaɪəʳ/ [verb phrase]
to make something start to burn, so that it gets damaged :
▪ Vandals set fire to an empty warehouse near the docks last night.
▪ Teresa wondered if the burning log might set fire to the curtains.
▪ The Vikings attacked villages along the coast and set them on fire.
▪ The heat from the stove almost set the wallpaper on fire.
▷ light /laɪt/ [transitive verb]
light a cigarette/fire/candle etc
to make a cigarette, fire etc start to burn :
▪ Ricky sat down and lit a cigarette.
▪ We searched around for twigs and fallen branches, so we could light a fire.
▷ torch /tɔːʳtʃ/ [transitive verb] informal
to deliberately make something start to burn in order to destroy it :
▪ It looked to me like someone had torched the place.
▷ ignite /ɪgˈnaɪt/ [transitive verb]
to make something start to burn, especially something that burns easily such as a gas or chemical :
▪ The gas is ignited by an electrical spark.
▪ If the mixture proves difficult to ignite, increase the proportion of ethylene.
4. to make something stop burning
▷ put out /ˌpʊt ˈaʊt/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to make a fire stop burning, or make a cigarette, pipe etc stop burning :
put out something
▪ It took firefighters four hours to put out the blaze.
▪ I put out my cigarette and went back into the house.
put something out
▪ She threw sand on the fire to put it out.
▷ extinguish /ɪkˈstɪŋgwɪʃ/ [transitive verb] formal
to make a fire stop burning, or make a cigarette stop burning - used especially in official notices or statements :
▪ Would all passengers please extinguish their cigarettes? Thank you.
▪ He managed to extinguish the flames with his coat.
▷ blow out /ˌbləʊ ˈaʊt/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to make a flame or fire stop burning by blowing on it :
blow out something
▪ You have to blow out all the candles or your wish won’t come true.
blow something out
▪ We tried to light a fire but the wind kept blowing it out.
▷ smother /ˈsmʌðəʳ/ [transitive verb]
to cover a fire with something in order to stop it burning :
▪ I grabbed a blanket and tried to smother the flames.
▷ stub out /ˌstʌb ˈaʊt/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to stop a cigarette from burning by pushing it against something hard :
stub out something
▪ She stubbed out her cigarette on the edge of the table.
stub something out
▪ Don’t stub your cigarette out on the floor!
5. to stop burning
▷ go out /ˌgəʊ ˈaʊt/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
if a fire, match, flame etc goes out, it stops burning, especially because there is nothing left to burn or something has stopped it burning :
▪ When I got back the fire had gone out.
▪ Suddenly the candle went out.
▪ Don’t let the campfire go out.
▷ die down /ˌdaɪ ˈdaʊn/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
if a fire or flame dies down, it starts to burn less and less strongly :
▪ The fire slowly died down during the night.
▪ The barbecue won’t be ready until the flames have died down and the charcoal is glowing.
▷ burn itself out /ˌbɜːʳn ɪtself ˈaʊt/ [verb phrase]
if a fire burns itself out, it burns until there is nothing left to burn, so that it stops :
▪ Firefighters are hoping the blaze will burn itself out before dawn.
▪ It’s only a small fire - we can leave it to burn itself out.
6. when something is burning
▷ burn /bɜːʳn/ [transitive verb]
to produce flames and heat :
▪ A pile of branches was burning in the yard.
▪ At one end of the room a coal fire burned brightly.
▪ The candle flickered briefly, then burned with a steady flame.
burning /ˈbɜːʳnɪŋ/ [adjective only before noun]
▪ The smell of burning rubber filled the air.
▪ He was 200 yards from the burning ship when it exploded.
▷ be on fire /biː ɒn ˈfaɪəʳ/ [verb phrase]
if a building, vehicle, or piece of clothing is on fire, it is burning :
▪ Large areas of the forest are reported to be on fire.
▪ Before long the neighboring houses were on fire too.
▷ be in flames also be ablaze /biː ɪn ˈfleɪmz, biː əˈbleɪz/ [verb phrase]
to be on fire with a lot of flames, causing serious damage :
▪ When the fire department arrived the whole school was in flames.
▪ Twelve hours after the bombing raid, many parts of the city were still ablaze.
▷ blazing /ˈbleɪzɪŋ/ [adjective only before noun]
burning very brightly with a lot of flames and heat :
▪ They sat on the sofa in front of a blazing fire.
▪ The heat from the blazing car could be felt several metres away.
▷ smoulder British /smolder American /ˈsməʊldəʳ/ [intransitive verb]
to burn slowly, producing smoke but no flames :
▪ The fire in the chemical factory was so intense that it was still smouldering a week later.
▪ A cigarette smoldered in the ashtray.
▪ a pile of smoldering leaves
▷ flicker /ˈflɪkəʳ/ [intransitive verb]
if a fire or flame flickers, it burns unsteadily :
▪ A welcoming fire flickered in the grate.
▪ Inside the shrine candles flicker next to statues of saints.
7. when something starts burning
▷ catch fire /ˌkætʃ ˈfaɪəʳ/ also catch on fire /ˌkætʃ ɒn ˈfaɪəʳ/ especially American [verb phrase]
to start burning accidentally :
▪ Two farm workers died when a barn caught fire yesterday.
▪ The car turned over, but luckily it didn’t catch fire.
▪ There was an explosion, and the whole garage caught on fire.
▷ burst into flames /ˌbɜːʳst ɪntə ˈfleɪmz/ [verb phrase]
to suddenly start burning and produce a lot of flames that cause serious damage :
▪ The plane crashed into the side of the mountain and burst into flames.
▪ Without warning the toaster burst into flames.
▷ go up (in flames) /ˌgəʊ ʌp ɪn ˈfleɪmz/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
if a building or vehicle goes up or goes up in flames, it starts burning very quickly and usually is destroyed by fire :
▪ Be careful with those matches, or the whole place will go up in flames!
▪ The fire spread slowly until it reached the gas cylinders, then the factory went up in flames.
▪ If the oil tanker goes up, it could burn for weeks.
▷ break out /ˌbreɪk ˈaʊt/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
if a fire breaks out, it starts burning accidentally and spreads very quickly :
▪ Over £20,000 worth of damage was caused when a fire broke out in the cellar.
▪ Would you know what to do if a fire broke out in your school?
▷ flare up /ˌfleər ˈʌp/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to suddenly begin to burn, or suddenly burn much more strongly than before, with a strong, bright flame :
▪ The spilled gasoline suddenly flared up in a sheet of flame.
▪ They threw some dry wood onto the bonfire and it flared up, showering sparks into the night sky.
▷ ignite /ɪgˈnaɪt/ [intransitive verb]
to start burning :
▪ Scientists could not explain why the gas had suddenly ignited.
▪ The compound ignites at 450 degrees Celsius.
8. to be destroyed by fire
▷ burn down /ˌbɜːʳn ˈdaʊn/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
if a building burns down, it is completely destroyed by fire :
▪ Charlene has lived with relatives since her house burned down.
▪ The hotel burnt down in 1990.
▷ gutted /ˈgʌtɪd, ˈgʌtəd/ [adjective not usually before noun]
a building that is gutted is still standing, but its inside has been completely destroyed by fire :
▪ ‘Was there anything worth saving after the fire?’ ‘No, the place is completely gutted.’
▪ a street full of gutted buildings
gut [transitive verb]
▪ A blaze gutted the dance hall last April.
▷ burnt-out especially British /burned-out especially American /ˌbɜːʳnt ˈaʊt◂, ˌbɜːʳnd ˈaʊt◂/ [adjective usually before noun]
a building or a vehicle that is burnt-out or burned-out has had everything inside it destroyed by fire :
▪ In the main square the burnt-out shell of the Palace of Justice still smouldered.
▪ The van was burned-out and completely blackened by smoke.
9. something that burns easily
▷ burn /bɜːʳn/ [intransitive verb]
to be able to be burned :
▪ Does styrofoam burn?
burn well/easily/badly etc
▪ Hard woods generally don’t burn well.
▷ flammable also inflammable /ˈflæməb ə l, ɪnˈflæməb ə l/ [adjective]
materials, chemicals, or gases that are flammable or inflammable will start burning very easily and quickly, so they can be dangerous :
▪ The report stated that inflammable substances were found near the building’s heating system.
highly inflammable/flammable
extremely flammable
▪ Hydrogen is a highly flammable gas.
10. something that does not burn easily
▷ fireproof /ˈfaɪəʳpruːf/ [adjective]
not easily damaged by flames :
▪ Theatre curtains have to be fireproof.
▷ flameproof/flame-resistant /ˈfleɪmpruːf, ˈfleɪm rɪˌzɪstənt/ [adjective]
clothes or substances such as glass that are flameproof or flame-resistant have been specially made so that they are not damaged by fire :
▪ Heat the mixture in a flameproof dish.
▪ Children’s pajamas are usually made from flame-resistant material.