back burner

Definition of back burner

: the condition of being out of active consideration or development —usually used in the phrase on the back burner

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Examples of back burner in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Put your business maneuvers and ambitions on the back burner. — Magi Helena, oregonlive, "Horoscope for Dec. 20, 2019: Taurus, spirit of the season brings out your best; Pisces, enjoy some after-work events," 20 Dec. 2019 An earlier plan from her predecessor, Denny Butler, to open a youth development center in Jefferson County to hold youths post-adjudication — the juvenile equivalent of being found guilty — appears to have been put on the back burner. — Darcy Costello, The Courier-Journal, "As deadline looms on youth detention plan, tweaks include more beds and family engagement," 18 Dec. 2019 And yet, some of the country's biggest news organizations are putting the story on the back burner. — Oliver Darcy, CNN, "Despite historic nature of impeachment, some major news organizations put story on back burner," 12 Dec. 2019 The flood of company earnings reports and a truce between the United States and China as the nations work to finalize ‘‘phase one’’ of a trade deal largely put investors’ worries about trade on the back burner this month. — BostonGlobe.com, "Stocks slip as new US-China trade jitters arise - The Boston Globe," 1 Nov. 2019 Tomori's emergence though, along with Christensen's improvement, means Lampard may see his priorities elsewhere, putting a potential move to west London firmly on the back burner. — SI.com, "Pau Torres: The Contenders to Sign Him & Where He Might End Up," 30 Oct. 2019 Mayor Jay Moran said Odyssey’s proposal has been on the back burner, but is still up for discussion when the committee convenes. — Jesse Leavenworth, courant.com, "Manchester panel to consider new uses for old schools," 15 Nov. 2019 Pinterest trends have upped everyone's holiday game this season: personalized drinks, handmade wreaths, and upcycled mason jars are taking up more precious prep time, leaving party-planning on the back burner. — Sara Rodrigues, House Beautiful, "This Machine Is Like a Keurig for Cocktails," 18 Oct. 2019 But the Navy had other plans, and after a few months of test flights, the service put the X-47B on the back burner. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The Navy’s First Carrier-Based Drone Has Flown," 1 Oct. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'back burner.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

26 Dec 2019

Cite this Entry

“Back burner.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/back%20burner. Accessed 19 January 2020.

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