Dictionary

burn off en · VERB

Meanings

1. (intransitive) To dissipate as the result of heat.
   • Near-synonyms: burn away, burn up
   • The weather by the beach can be considerably cooler—ten degrees or more— and usually starts with fog and haze that burn off by late morning. 2005, Lark Gould, Los Angeles Off the Beaten Path®, page xix:
2. (transitive) To cause to dissipate by applying heat.
   • Near-synonyms: burn away, burn up
   • When he tried to light the cigarette in his mouth, he discovered he was about to burn off the filter and a fair bit of his mouth. 2013, Wen Zhu, The Matchmaker, the Apprentice, and the Football Fan:
3. (intransitive, qualifier:oil industry, transitive) To dispose of (unusable explosive natural gas from an oil well) by burning it as it emerges from the well.
   • Near-synonyms: burn away, burn up
4. (intransitive, of an axle bearing) To fail due to overheating.
   • Near-synonym: burn up
5. (intransitive, transitive) To fill (low-value air time) with programming not suitable for its original purpose.
6. (transitive) To expend energy resulting from metabolizing food.
   • It's to encourage boys to burn off excess energy. 2010, Richard Littlejohn, Littlejohn's House of Fun: Thirteen Years of (Labour) Madness, page 78:
   • Near-synonyms: burn away, burn up
   • But you can burn off calories more ways than you know. Do you know you burn off a calorie by just standing still every two minutes? 2015, James Egan, Over 100 Ways to Stop Sabotaging Your Life, page 13:
   • To get rid of just 0.5kg (1lb) of excess fat you must burn off around 3500 calories. 2010, Efua Baker, 15 Minute Calorie Burn Workout, page 11:
7. (transitive) To use up a resource in a nonproductive manner.
   • “I want to burn off some of the clock before going into the end zone. 2022, James R. Welke, The International Football League:
   • Near-synonym: burn through
   • We burn off speed. We have come around very fast. Must burn off more speed. 2019, David Gerrold, Bouncing Off the Moon:
8. to cause to waste energy.
   • Slick use of the resulting turnover ball gave Koroibete the space to burn off Daly, only the third try England have so far conceded in this tournament. 2019 October 19, Robert Kitson, “England into World Cup semi-finals after bruising victory over Australia”, in The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media:
9. (transitive) To speed past (someone), such as in a race, especially when first starting off.
   • The other competitors were way behind, having been burned off at the starting line.

Forms

Deriveds

burnoff

Relateds

burn out

Synonyms

burn through · burn away · burn away · burn up · burn up · burn up · burn away · flare (dispose of unusable natural gas) · burn up · burn up · burn away