burn up
phrasal verb
burned up or burnt up; burning up; burns up
: to be destroyed or cause (something) to be destroyed by fire
Most asteroids burn up upon entering the Earth's atmosphere.
Wildfires have been raging across the region burning up acres of forest.
Do we still need these old receipts? No, burn them up.
Examples of burn up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Shooting stars appear when particles from ancient comets and asteroids collide with Earth's atmosphere, burning up in a magnificent display that can be easily visible to the naked eye.
—
Anthony Wood, Space.com, 13 Dec. 2025
If meteoroids survive their trip to Earth without burning up in the atmosphere, they are called meteorites, NASA says.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 10 Dec. 2025
Operators must now reserve enough fuel to fire the thrusters at the end of the mission to lower the satellite’s altitude, until atmospheric drag takes over and the spacecraft burns up in the atmosphere.
—Mojtaba Akhavan-Tafti, The Conversation, 3 Dec. 2025
Others are deorbited and burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 1 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for burn up
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Anthony Wood, Space.com, 13 Dec. 2025
If meteoroids survive their trip to Earth without burning up in the atmosphere, they are called meteorites, NASA says.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 10 Dec. 2025
Operators must now reserve enough fuel to fire the thrusters at the end of the mission to lower the satellite’s altitude, until atmospheric drag takes over and the spacecraft burns up in the atmosphere.
—Mojtaba Akhavan-Tafti, The Conversation, 3 Dec. 2025
Others are deorbited and burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 1 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for burn up
Cite this Entry
“Burn up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burn%20up. Accessed 17 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share