Definition

Noun: * Reduced priority; a state of being temporarily postponed or given less urgent attention. This term originates from the idea of a stove with multiple burners, where items placed on the "back burner" are kept warm but are not the primary focus of immediate cooking.

Usage

• The phrase is almost exclusively used in the idiomatic expression "on the back burner".
• It describes projects, plans, issues, or tasks that are not currently active or being worked on, but may be resumed later.

Examples

• "We need to put that marketing campaign on the back burner until we secure more funding."
• "With the current crisis, all other initiatives have been moved to the back burner."
• "Her plans to write a novel have been on the back burner for years."

Advanced Usage

• "to put something on the back burner": To decide to delay or deprioritize something.
• "to be on the back burner": To be in a state of delay or low priority.
• "to move something to the back burner": To change the status of something to a lower priority.
• The opposite concept is the "front burner", used in the idiom "on the front burner", meaning something is receiving immediate, active attention.

Variants and Related Words

• Back-burner (verb, informal): To postpone or assign a low priority to something.
  • Example: "They decided to back-burner the software update."
• Front burner (noun): A state of high priority and immediate attention.
  • Example: "Client satisfaction is on the front burner right now."

Synonyms

• Hold (as in "put on hold")
• Deferral
• Postponement
• Limbo (informal)

Related Idioms

• "On the back burner": The primary idiom using this term, meaning postponed or of low current priority.
• "On the front burner": The direct opposite, meaning receiving active and immediate attention.

Noun

1. reduced priority
   • dozens of cases were put on the back burner