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Webster 1913 Edition

Burn

Burn

(bûrn)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Burned
(bûrnd) or
Burnt
(bûrnt);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Burning
.]
[OE.
bernen
,
brennen
, v. t., early confused with
beornen
,
birnen
, v. i., AS.
bærnan
,
bernan
, v. t.,
birnan
, v. i.; akin to OS.
brinnan
, OFries.
barna
,
berna
, OHG.
brinnan
,
brennan
, G.
brennen
, OD.
bernen
, D.
branden
, Dan.
brænde
, Sw.
bränna
,
brinna
, Icel.
brenna
, Goth.
brinnan
,
brannjan
(in comp.), and possibly to E.
fervent
.]
1.
To consume with fire; to reduce to ashes by the action of heat or fire; – frequently intensified by up:
as, to
burn
up wood
.
“We’ll burn his body in the holy place.”
Shak.
2.
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
.
3.
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
.
4.
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
.
5.
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
.
This tyrant fever
burns
me up.
Shakespeare
This dry sorrow
burns
up all my tears.
Dryden.
When the cold north wind bloweth, . . . it devoureth the mountains, and
burneth
the wilderness, and consumeth the [GREEK][GREEK]ass as fire.
Ecclus. xliii. 20, 21.
6.
(Surg.)
To apply a cautery to; to cauterize.
7.
(Chem.)
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
.
To burn
,
To burn together
, as two surfaces of metal
(Engin.)
,
to fuse and unite them by pouring over them a quantity of the same metal in a liquid state.
–
To burn a bowl
(Game of Bowls)
,
to displace it accidentally, the bowl so displaced being said to be burned.
–
To burn daylight
,
to light candles before it is dark; to waste time; to perform superfluous actions.
Shak.
–
To burn one's fingers
,
to get one's self into unexpected trouble, as by interfering the concerns of others, speculation, etc.
–
To burn out
,
(a)
to destroy or obliterate by burning.
“Must you with hot irons burn out mine eyes?”
Shak.
(b)
to force (people) to flee by burning their homes or places of business;
as, the rioters
burned out
the Chinese businessmen.
–
To be burned out
,
to suffer loss by fire, as the burning of one's house, store, or shop, with the contents.
–
To burn up
,
To burn down
,
to burn entirely.

Burn

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To be of fire; to flame.
“The mount burned with fire.”
Deut. ix. 15.
2.
To suffer from, or be scorched by, an excess of heat.
Your meat doth
burn
, quoth I.
Shakespeare
3.
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
.
Did not our heart
burn
within us, while he talked with us by the way?
Luke xxiv. 32.
The barge she sat in, like a burnished throne,
Burned
on the water.
Shakespeare
Burning
with high hope.
Byron.
The groan still deepens, and the combat
burns
.
Pope.
The parching air
Burns
frore, and cold performs the effect of fire.
Milton.
4.
(Chem.)
To combine energetically, with evolution of heat;
as, copper
burns
in chlorine
.
5.
In certain games, to approach near to a concealed object which is sought.
[Colloq.]
To burn up
,
To burn down
,
to be entirely consumed.

Burn

,
Noun.
1.
A hurt, injury, or effect caused by fire or excessive or intense heat.
2.
The operation or result of burning or baking, as in brickmaking;
as, they have a good
burn
.
3.
A disease in vegetables. See
Brand
,
Noun.
, 6.

Burn

,
Noun.
[See 1st
Bourn
.]
A small stream.
[Scot.]

Webster 1828 Edition

Burn

BURN

,
Verb.
T.
pret. and pp. burned or burnt. [L. pruna, and perhaps, furnus, fornaz, a furnace. The primary sense is, to rage, to act with violent excitement.]
1. To consume with fire; to reduce to ashes by the action of heat or fire; frequently with up; as, to burn up wood.
2.
To expel the volatile parts and reduce to charcoal by fire; as, to burn wood into coal. Hence, in popular language, to burn a kiln of wood, is to char the wood.
3.
To cleanse of soot by burning; to inflame; as, to burn a chimney; an extensive use of the word.
4.
To harden in the fire; to bake or harden by heat; as, to burn bricks or a brick kiln.
5.
To scorch; to affect by heat; as, to burn the clothes or the legs by the fire; to burn meat or bread in cookery.
6.
To injure by fire; to affect the flesh by heat.
7.
To dry up or dissipate; with up; as, to burn up tears.
8.
To dry excessively; to cause to wither by heat; as,the sun burns the grass or plants.
9.
To heat or inflame; to affect with excessive stimulus; as, ardent spirits burn the stomach.
10. To affect with heat in cookery, so as to give the food a disagreeable taste. Hence the phrase burnt to.
11. To calcine with heat or fire; to expel the volatile matter from substances, so that they are easily pulverized; as, to burn oyster shells, or lime-stone.
12. To affect with excess of heat; as, the fever burns a patient.
13. To subject to the action of fire; to heat or dry; as, to burn colors.
To burn up, to consume entirely by fire.
To burn out, to burn till the fuel is all consumed.

BURN

,
Verb.
I.
To be on fire; to flame; as, the mount burned with fire.
1.
To shine; to sparkle.
O prince! O wherefore burn your eyes?
2.
To be inflamed with passion or desire; as, to burn with anger or love.
3.
To act with destructive violence, as fire.
Shall thy wrath burn like fire?
4.
To be in commotion; to rage with destructive violence.
The groan still deepens and the combat burns.
5.
To be heated; to be in a glow; as, the face burns.
6.
To be affected with a sensation of heat, pain or acidity; as, the heart burns.
7.
To feel excess of heat; as, the flesh burns by a fire; a patient burns with a fever.
To burn out, to burn till the fuel is exhausted and the fire ceases.

BURN

,
Noun.
A hurt or injury of the flesh caused by the action of fire.
1.
The operation of burning or baking, as in brickmaking; as, they have a good burn.

Definition 2024

burn

burn

See also: bùrn

English

Noun

burn ‎(plural burns)

Examples (act of burning)
  1. A physical injury caused by heat, cold, electricity, radiation or caustic chemicals.
    She had second-degree burns from falling in the bonfire.
  2. A sensation resembling such an injury.
    chili burn from eating hot peppers
  3. The act of burning something.
    They're doing a controlled burn of the fields.
    • 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 2, in Internal Combustion:
      One typical Grecian kiln engorged one thousand muleloads of juniper wood in a single burn.
  4. Physical sensation in the muscles following strenuous exercise, caused by build-up of lactic acid.
    One and, two and, keep moving; feel the burn!
  5. (slang) An intense non-physical sting, as left by an effective insult.
  6. (Britain, chiefly prison slang) tobacco
    • 2002, Tom Wickham, “A Day In The Wrong Life”, in Julian Broadhead, Laura Kerr, editor, Prison Writing, Sixteenth Edition edition, Waterside Press, ISBN 9781872870403, page 26:
      TOM: I’m serious bruv. Put my burn and lighter and all that in my jeans please and give them here, then press the cell bell.
    • 2006, S. Drake, A Cry for Help, Chipmunkapublishing ltd, ISBN 9781847470010, Chapter 7, page 94:
      “Any of you want to borrow some burn,” asked a scarred inmate known as Bull.
    • 2006, Peter Squires, editor, Community Safety: Critical Perspectives on Policy and Practice, Policy Press, ISBN 9781861347305 1861347308, page 23:
      It was like no one was looking out for me, and the older kids used to take the piss ...they were always threatening me and taking my burn [tobacco] […]
    • 2010, Stephen Fry, The Fry Chronicles:
      As the prison week ended and the less careful inmates began to run out of burn they went through a peculiar begging ritual that I, never one to husband resources either, was quick to learn.
  7. The operation or result of burning or baking, as in brickmaking.
    They have a good burn.
  8. A disease in vegetables; brand.
  9. An effective insult.
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

burn ‎(third-person singular simple present burns, present participle burning, simple past and past participle burned or (mostly Commonwealth) burnt)

  1. (transitive) To cause to be consumed by fire.
    He burned his manuscript in the fireplace.‎
    • 2013 June 29, “Unspontaneous combustion”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 29:
      Since the mid-1980s, when Indonesia first began to clear its bountiful forests on an industrial scale in favour of lucrative palm-oil plantations, “haze” has become an almost annual occurrence in South-East Asia. The cheapest way to clear logged woodland is to burn it, producing an acrid cloud of foul white smoke that, carried by the wind, can cover hundreds, or even thousands, of square miles.
  2. (intransitive) To be consumed by fire, or in flames.
    He watched the house burn.‎
    • 2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
      Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.
  3. (transitive) To overheat so as to make unusable.
    He burned the toast. The blacksmith burned the steel.‎
  4. (intransitive) To become overheated to the point of being unusable.
    The grill was too hot and the steak burned.‎
  5. (transitive) To make or produce by the application of fire or burning heat.
    to burn a hole;  to burn letters into a block‎
  6. (transitive) To injure (a person or animal) with heat or caustic chemicals.
    She burned the child with an iron, and was jailed for ten years.‎
  7. (transitive, surgery) To cauterize.
  8. (transitive, intransitive) To sunburn.
    She forgot to put on sunscreen and burned.‎
  9. (transitive) To consume, injure, or change the condition of, as if by action of fire or heat; to affect as fire or heat does.
    to burn the mouth with pepper‎
    • William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
      This tyrant fever burns me up.
    • John Dryden (1631-1700)
      This dry sorrow burns up all my tears.
    • Epistle of James 4:2 (AMP)
      You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your desires go unfulfilled; [so] you become murderers. [To hate is to murder as far as your hearts are concerned.] You burn with envy and anger and are not able to obtain [the gratification, the contentment, and the happiness that you seek], so you fight and war. You do not have, because you do not ask.
  10. (intransitive) To be hot, e.g. due to embarrassment.
    The child's forehead was burning with fever.  Her cheeks burned with shame.‎
  11. (chemistry, transitive) To cause to combine with oxygen or other active agent, with evolution of heat; to consume; to oxidize.
    A human being burns a certain amount of carbon at each respiration.  to burn iron in oxygen‎
  12. (chemistry, dated) To combine energetically, with evolution of heat.
    Copper burns in chlorine.‎
  13. (transitive, computing) To write data to a permanent storage medium like a compact disc or a ROM chip.
    We’ll burn this program onto an EEPROM one hour before the demo begins.‎
  14. (transitive, slang) To betray.
    The informant burned him.‎
  15. (transitive, slang) To insult or defeat.
    I just burned you again.‎
  16. (transitive) To waste (time).
    We have an hour to burn.‎
  17. In certain games, to approach near to a concealed object which is sought.
    You're cold... warm... hot... you're burning!‎
  18. (intransitive, curling) To accidentally touch a moving stone.
  19. (transitive, card games) In pontoon, to swap a pair of cards for another pair, or to deal a dead card.
  20. (photography) To increase the exposure for certain areas of a print in order to make them lighter (compare dodge).
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English burn, bourne, from Old English burne, burna ‎(“spring, fountain”), from Proto-Germanic *brunnô, *brunō (compare West Frisian boarne, Dutch bron, German Brunnen), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrew- (compare Albanian burim ‎(“spring, fountain”) from buroj ‎(“to pour, gush, derive”), Ancient Greek φρέαρ ‎(phréar, “well, reservoir”), Old Armenian աղբիւր ‎(ałbiwr, “fount”)). Doublet of bourn. More at brew.

Noun

burn ‎(plural burns)

  1. (Scotland, Northern England) A stream.
    • 1881, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Inversnaid
      THIS darksome burn, horseback brown,
      His rollrock highroad roaring down,
      In coop and in comb the fleece of his foam
      Flutes and low to the lake falls home.
    • 1881, Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque:
      He may pitch on some tuft of lilacs over a burn, and smoke innumerable pipes to the tune of the water on the stones.
    • 2008, James Kelman, Kieron Smith, Boy, Penguin 2009, page 105:
      When it was too heavy rain the burn ran very high and wide and ye could never jump it.
Related terms
Translations

References

  • “burn” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).
  • Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967
  • Northumberland Words, English Dialect Society, R. Oliver Heslop, 1893–4

Nyunga

Noun

burn

  1. wood

References

This entry has fewer than three known examples of actual usage, the minimum considered necessary for clear attestation, and may not be reliable. Nyunga is subject to a special exemption for languages with limited documentation. If you speak it, please consider editing this entry or adding citations. See also Help and the Community Portal.

Scots

Noun

burn ‎(plural burns)

  1. A small river.

Etymology

From Middle English bernen, birnen, from Old English byrnan, beornan ‎(“to burn”), metathesis from Proto-Germanic *brinnaną ‎(“to burn”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrenw- (compare Middle Irish brennim ‎(“drink up”), bruinnim ‎(“bubble up”)), present stem from *bʰreu-, *bʰru- (compare Middle Irish bréo ‎(“flame”), Albanian burth ‎(“Cyclamen hederifolium, mouth burning”), Sanskrit भुरति ‎(bhurati, “moves quickly, twitches, fidgets”)). More at brew.

Pronunciation

Similar Results