Introduction
You might already know one meaning of ‘burn’ – damage with fire or heat. But do you know these four other meanings? Get to know the word ‘burn’ with Phil!
4 meanings of ‘burn’
discourage
If you are burned by an experience, it means you tried it and it resulted in an unpleasant outcome, so you don’t want to do it again.
- I’m not starting another business – I’ve been burned before.
- I got burned badly last time I offered to do the washing up for him – he used every pan in the kitchen!
clever and quick insult
A burn is an informal word for mocking comment about someone or something.
- She said, “Here’s a torch. You don’t need to get dressed in the dark, you know.” He was stung by the burn.
- The rapper threw out a few sick burns about his rival.
use up energy
You can use ‘burn’ to talk about using up fuel, calories or other forms of energy.
- This workout is the quickest way to burn some calories.
- We’re burning through the gas for this camping stove. We’ll need to buy some more.
use without thinking about saving
If you have something ‘to burn’, you have enough of it that you don’t have to think about sparing any.
- Nothing is too expensive for her. She’s got money to burn.
- We’ve got time to burn – let’s go to the park!
TRANSCRIPT
Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.
Phil
Let’s look at the word ‘burn’. We all know this meaning… but there are more! Burns hurt. Some meanings are related to pain. If you try something and it goes wrong, you might be burned by the experience. It means discouraged.
Example
I’m not starting another business – I’ve been burned before.
Phil
Informally, a burn can be an insult, usually one that’s clever and quick.
Example
She said, “Here’s a torch. You don’t need to get dressed in the dark, you know.” He was stung by the burn.
Phil
Enough pain! ‘Burn’ also refers to using things up. If you do a lot of exercise, you burn energy.
Example
This workout is the quickest way to burn some calories.
Phil
If you’ve got so much of something that it doesn’t matter how much you use, we can say that you have it to burn.
Example
Nothing is too expensive for her. She’s got money to burn.
Phil
Learn these four meanings of ‘burn’ today!