I. scald 1 /skɔːld $ skɒːld/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Language: Old North French ; Origin: escalder , from Late Latin excaldare 'to wash in warm water' , from Latin calidus 'warm' ]
to burn your skin with hot liquid or steam:
Don’t scald yourself with that kettle!
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THESAURUS
■ to burn something
▪ burn to damage or destroy something with fire or heat:
She lit a fire and burned his letters one by one.
▪ set fire to something ( also set something on fire ) to make something start burning so that it gets damaged:
Vandals set fire to an empty warehouse.
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Teresa wondered if the burning log might set fire to the curtains.
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The Vikings attacked villages along the coast and set them on fire.
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Sparks from the fireplace could easily set the curtains on fire.
▪ scorch to damage the surface of something by burning it so that a dark mark is left on it:
Having the iron on a very high heat can scorch the fabric.
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The heater was left on all night and it scorched the wall.
▪ singe /sɪndʒ/ to damage hair, wool, paper etc by burning it slightly so that the ends or edges are burnt:
The flames were hot enough to singe your eyebrows.
▪ scald to burn your skin with very hot liquid or steam:
The coffee was so hot it nearly scalded his tongue.
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It’s easy to knock a pan off the stove and scald yourself.
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He was scalded by steam escaping from the broken pipe.
▪ ignite technical 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.
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It appears he threw away a lit cigarette which ignited the petrol spilt on the ground.
II. scald 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
a burn on your skin caused by hot liquid or steam