barn burner
noun
: one that arouses much interest or excitement
the game should be a real barn burner
Examples of barn burner in a Sentence
The game should be a real barn burner.
Recent Examples on the Web
The underlying message was clear: Whittingham felt Utah was the better team in last year’s 29-26 barn burner of a loss in Gainesville.
—
Kevin Reynolds, The Salt Lake Tribune, 31 Aug. 2023
Eyes on 2024: Democrats are all in for Allred The Texas Senate race is already shaping up to be a barn burner — Democratic Rep. Colin Allred’s initial fundraising haul is an early sign that the Lone Star State will once again host an expensive Senate race.
—Ben Kamisar, NBC News, 5 May 2023
This is a pull-out-all-the-stops over-the-top barn burner of a sandwich that will knock anyone's socks off.
—Christopher Michel, Country Living, 17 May 2023
The Texas Senate race is already shaping up to be a barn burner — Democratic Rep. Colin Allred’s initial fundraising haul is an early sign that the Lone Star State will once again host an expensive Senate race.
—Ben Kamisar, NBC News, 5 May 2023
See here: Friday’s jobs report was a barn burner.
—Allison Morrow, CNN, 6 Feb. 2023
The topic was a barn burner.
—Washington Post, 11 Jan. 2022
Paul Gronke, a political science professor and director of the Early Voting Information Center at Reed College, said Oregon voters' enthusiasm as expressed by early turnout is particularly impressive because there aren’t any barn burner statewide races this year.
—oregonlive, 31 Oct. 2020
As political speeches go, Representative Liz Cheney’s address to a packed gym here on Tuesday evening was hardly a barn burner.
—Jonathan Weisman, New York Times, 1 Nov. 2022
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Kevin Reynolds, The Salt Lake Tribune, 31 Aug. 2023
Eyes on 2024: Democrats are all in for Allred The Texas Senate race is already shaping up to be a barn burner — Democratic Rep. Colin Allred’s initial fundraising haul is an early sign that the Lone Star State will once again host an expensive Senate race.
—Ben Kamisar, NBC News, 5 May 2023
This is a pull-out-all-the-stops over-the-top barn burner of a sandwich that will knock anyone's socks off.
—Christopher Michel, Country Living, 17 May 2023
The Texas Senate race is already shaping up to be a barn burner — Democratic Rep. Colin Allred’s initial fundraising haul is an early sign that the Lone Star State will once again host an expensive Senate race.
—Ben Kamisar, NBC News, 5 May 2023
See here: Friday’s jobs report was a barn burner.
—Allison Morrow, CNN, 6 Feb. 2023
The topic was a barn burner.
—Washington Post, 11 Jan. 2022
Paul Gronke, a political science professor and director of the Early Voting Information Center at Reed College, said Oregon voters' enthusiasm as expressed by early turnout is particularly impressive because there aren’t any barn burner statewide races this year.
—oregonlive, 31 Oct. 2020
As political speeches go, Representative Liz Cheney’s address to a packed gym here on Tuesday evening was hardly a barn burner.
—Jonathan Weisman, New York Times, 1 Nov. 2022
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'barn burner.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1951, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near barn burner
Cite this Entry
“Barn burner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barn%20burner. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.
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