Definition Definition

burn - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'burn' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Burn [ n.]
- A hurt, injury, or effect caused by fire or excessive or intense heat.
- The operation or result of burning or baking, as in brickmaking; as, they have a good burn.
- A disease in vegetables. See Brand, n., 6.
- A small stream.
2 . Burn [ v. i.]
- To be of fire; to flame.
- To suffer from, or be scorched by, an excess of heat.
- To have a condition, quality, appearance, sensation, or emotion, as if on fire or excessively heated; to act or rage with destructive violence; to be in a state of lively emotion or strong desire; as, the face burns; to burn with fever.
- To combine energetically, with evolution of heat; as, copper burns in chlorine.
- In certain games, to approach near to a concealed object which is sought.
3 . Burn [ v. t.]
- To consume with fire; to reduce to ashes by the action of heat or fire; -- frequently intensified by up: as, to burn up wood.
- To injure by fire or heat; to change destructively some property or properties of, by undue exposure to fire or heat; to scorch; to scald; to blister; to singe; to char; to sear; as, to burn steel in forging; to burn one's face in the sun; the sun burns the grass.
- To perfect or improve by fire or heat; to submit to the action of fire or heat for some economic purpose; to destroy or change some property or properties of, by exposure to fire or heat in due degree for obtaining a desired residuum, product, or effect; to bake; as, to burn clay in making bricks or pottery; to burn wood so as to produce charcoal; to burn limestone for the lime.
- To make or produce, as an effect or result, by the application of fire or heat; as, to burn a hole; to burn charcoal; to burn letters into a block.
- To consume, injure, or change the condition of, as if by action of fire or heat; to affect as fire or heat does; as, to burn the mouth with pepper.
- To apply a cautery to; to cauterize.
- To cause to combine with oxygen or other active agent, with evolution of heat; to consume; to oxidize; as, a man burns a certain amount of carbon at each respiration; to burn iron in oxygen.

Meaning of 'burn' (Princeton's WordNet)

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