Definition

1. Noun:

   • An injury caused by heat, chemicals, electricity, or radiation: Damage to skin or body tissue.
   • A mark or area on a surface damaged by fire: A place where something has been burned.
   • The process or result of burning: The act of combustion or its effect.

2. Verb:

   • To be on fire; to undergo combustion: To be consumed or damaged by fire.
   • To damage or injure by heat, fire, or a similar agent: To cause a burn injury.
   • To use as fuel; to consume energy: To use something up by burning it.
   • To feel hot or painful: A sensation similar to that caused by fire.
   • To feel a strong emotion, especially anger or passion: To be filled with intense feeling.
   • To produce light by burning: To shine or glow.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • She suffered a severe burn on her hand from the hot pan.
  • You could see the burn on the table where the candle fell.
  • The burn from the sun made his skin peel.

• Verb:

  • Dry wood burns easily.
  • Be careful not to burn yourself on the stove.
  • This engine burns fuel very efficiently.
  • My eyes burn from the smoke.
  • He was burning with anger after the argument.
  • The lights burned brightly all night.

Advanced Usage

• "to burn away": to be destroyed or removed completely by burning.
  • The morning sun burned away the fog.
• "to burn down": (of a building) to be destroyed completely by fire; (of a fire) to become weaker.
  • The old factory burned down last year.
  • Let the fire burn down to coals before cooking.
• "to burn out": to stop functioning from overheating; to become exhausted from overwork.
  • The motor burned out after continuous use.
  • Many healthcare workers risk burning out.
• "to burn up": to be completely consumed by fire; (informal) to make someone very angry.
  • The satellite will burn up upon re-entry.
  • His rude comments really burned me up.

Variants and Related Words

• Burner (n): A device that produces a flame (e.g., a stove burner).
• Burning (adj/n): On fire; very strong or intense (e.g., a burning desire).
• Sunburn (n): A burn to the skin caused by overexposure to the sun's rays.
• Burnable (adj): Capable of being burned.

Synonyms

• Verb: Combust, blaze, scorch, sear, singe, char, smolder.
• Noun: Scald, scorch, blister.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Burn off: To remove something by burning; to use energy through exercise.
  • They burned off the old paint.
  • I need to burn off these calories.
• Burn through: To use something (like money or resources) quickly and wastefully.
  • He burned through his inheritance in a year.

Related Idioms

• Burn the midnight oil: To work or study late into the night.
  • She had to burn the midnight oil to finish her thesis.
• Burn your bridges: To destroy all possible ways of going back to a situation.
  • By insulting his boss, he burned his bridges at the company.
• Burn a hole in your pocket: (Of money) to make you want to spend it quickly.
  • The bonus was burning a hole in his pocket.
• Get your fingers burned: To suffer bad results from an action, often financial.
  • He got his fingers burned investing in that risky scheme.

Noun

1. damage inflicted by fire
2. a place or area that has been burned (especially on a person's body)
3. an injury caused by exposure to heat or chemicals or radiation
4. a browning of the skin resulting from exposure to the rays of the sun
5. pain that feels hot as if it were on fire

Verb

1. burn with heat, fire, or radiation
   • The iron burnt a hole in my dress
2. use up (energy)
   • burn off calories through vigorous exercise
3. create by duplicating data
   • cut a disk
   • burn a CD
4. get a sunburn by overexposure to the sun
5. burn, sear, or freeze (tissue) using a hot iron or electric current or a caustic agent
   • The surgeon cauterized the wart
6. feel hot or painful
   • My eyes are burning
7. spend (significant amounts of money)
   • He has money to burn
8. burn at the stake
   • Witches were burned in Salem
9. cause to undergo combustion
   • burn garbage
   • The car burns only Diesel oil
10. feel strong emotion, especially anger or passion
    • She was burning with anger
    • He was burning to try out his new skies
11. cause to burn or combust
    • The sun burned off the fog
    • We combust coal and other fossil fuels
12. cause a sharp or stinging pain or discomfort
    • The sun burned his face
13. undergo combustion
    • Maple wood burns well
14. shine intensely, as if with heat
    • The coals were glowing in the dark
    • The candles were burning
15. destroy by fire
    • They burned the house and his diaries