burner phone

noun

: a prepaid cell phone that is not bound to a contract with a carrier (see carrier sense 7b) and is usually intended to be disposed of after use

She said he returned a short time later, got a lot of cash, then left again with the drugs and money after talking to an unidentified person on a burner phone.

—Kurt Helin

called also burner

Examples of burner phone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In the lawyer’s pitch, as presented to the jury Friday, the Me & U singer’s street cred comes from having a burner phone to get in touch with short-term love Kid Cudi without Combs knowing. —Dominic Patten, Deadline, 27 June 2025

For all of these reasons, many privacy advocates do not recommend burner phones for the majority of people. —Andy Greenberg, Wired News, 16 June 2025

European Union executives traveling to the United States are being given burner phones and basic laptops to mitigate security concerns — measures that are usually reserved for trips to China and Russia, where personal communications are considered less safe from spying. —Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 14 Apr. 2025

Maeve summons Eddie to the prison via burner phone. —Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 1 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1996, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for burner phone

• acetone
• anglophone
• baritone
• bourguignon
• buspirone
• chaperon
• chaperone
• cobblestone
• collarbone
• cornerstone
• cortisone
• dictaphone