back burner

noun

|Updated on: 13 Jun 2018

Definition of back burner

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

—

back-burner

transitive verb

See back burner defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of back burner from the Web

Talks to revamp Nafta began in August but have slowed and are now on the back burner, with a key senator saying the window to pass a deal in the current Congress has closed.

— josh wingrove, Bloomberg.com, "Trump Repeats He'd Quit Nafta and May Seek Separate Talks," 8 June 2018
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration has put filling the associate attorney general position on the back burner after several candidates expressed similar concerns.

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "Risk of Being Mueller’s Boss Scares Off Top Justice Department Candidates," 6 June 2018
For years, a combination of budget cuts, understaffing and concerns about targeting homeless people kept station upkeep and safety on the back burner at BART.

— matier & ross, San Francisco Chronicle, "If Oakland wants to keep fighting coal at terminal, it’s going to be expensive," 21 May 2018
The recent energy downturn forced many oil companies to put cybersecurity projects on the back burner for a few years, cybersecurity specialists said.

— collin eaton, San Antonio Express-News, "Threats to energy networks growing," 9 Apr. 2018
For a year or so, the issue of player protests during the national anthem simmered along on the National Football League’s back burner.

— les bowen, Philly.com, "NFL anthem policy attempts to end protests, but controversy surrounding them lives on," 23 May 2018
That means the Tigers superstar can focus on his game for now and put his legal worries on the back burner.

— tresa baldas, Detroit Free Press, "Miguel Cabrera, ex-mistress headed to trial over child support in November," 22 May 2018
But changing the story’s focus for a bit meant leaving other characters on the back burner, including Maeve (Thandie Newton) and Lee Sizemore (Simon Quarterman), who were both last seen confronting a group of warriors from Shogun World.

— bryan bishop, The Verge, "Westworld Spoilers Club season 2, episode 5: Akane No Mai," 21 May 2018
Benching is when someone keeps a potential partner on the romantic back burner.

— de elizabeth, Allure, "9 Annoying Dating Trends Every Modern Romantic Needs to Know," 22 Mar. 2018

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.

First Known Use of back burner

1943

in the meaning defined above

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back burner

Definition of back burner

back-burner

Recent Examples of back burner from the Web

First Known Use of back burner

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back burner

Definition of back burner

back-burner

Recent Examples of back burner from the Web

First Known Use of back burner

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