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