Health / A2

BURN/bɜːn/

To burn is to be on fire, or to damage with heat: the wood is burning; don’t burn the rice. Burn yourself, a burn (noun) on your hand. Fire is the noun for the flames; burn is usually the verb. Burnt and burned are both used in British English; burnt is common as an adjective: burnt toast.

Meaning

To be on fire, or to damage something with fire or heat.

Examples

• “Don’t burn the toast.”
• “The candles burned until midnight.”
• “He burned his fingers on the pan.”

Good to know

burn + food / yourself. Adjective: burnt. Noun: a burn.

Topics

New