burner

noun

burn·​er ˈbər-nər 

plural burners

1

: one that burns: such as

a

: the part of a fuel-burning or heat-producing device (such as a furnace or stove) where the flame or heat is produced

b

: a device for recording data on an optical disk

2

: an athlete who possesses great speed

3

: burner phone

… I leaned over and checked the glove box. There were two cell phones in there, both pre-paid burners with a set number of pre-paid minutes, both still in their drugstore packaging, effectively untraceable if bought with cash …

—Lee Child

4

medical : stinger sense 4

He missed two games late in the season because of what athletic trainers call "cervical burners," a fairly appropriate description of the pain that would originate in Wadsworth's neck and shoot down his body.

—Emily Dorman

see also:

burner account

Examples of burner in a Sentence

The burner on the furnace isn't working.

The computer comes equipped with a CD burner.

Recent Examples on the Web

Keeping the burners on high and using the scraping tool or a bench scraper, scrape at a roughly 45-degree angle to remove the rust or the stuck-on food. —Ann Taylor Pittman, Southern Living, 18 June 2026

Many cones utilize waterfall-style burners that burn backward. —Bestreviews, Mercury News, 17 June 2026

Additionally, the oil burner should get better fuel mileage than a small-block, and maybe even the TurboMax four-cylinder, as that thing drinks fuel when the turbo spools. —Caleb Jacobs, The Drive, 17 June 2026

The second movie in the long-running franchise about cheating Death opens with a barn-burner of a sequence for a series that prides itself on creative kills. —Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 15 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing burner

• back burner
• barn burner
• Bunsen burner
• burner account
• burner phone
• front burner
• on the back burner
• on the front burner

Rhymes for burner

• earner
• learner
• sterner
• afterburner

Kids Definition

burner

noun

burn·​er ˈbər-nər 

: one that burns: as

a

: the part of a fuel-burning or heat-producing device (as a furnace or stove) where a flame or heat is produced

b

: a device for recording data on an optical disk

Medical Definition

burner

noun

burn·​er ˈbər-nər 

: stinger sense 2