combust

verb

com·​bust kəm-ˈbəst 

combusted; combusting; combusts

: burn

Synonyms

• burn
• glow
• flame

Examples of combust in a Sentence

anthracite, which is naturally hard, combusts more cleanly than bituminous coal

Recent Examples on the Web

Western Maryland’s communities should not be left to combust in the footnotes of our state’s history, but should be integral to its future. —Daniel A.c. McBride, Baltimore Sun, 1 June 2025

The dog, which Giancarlo said combusted as if something flammable had been applied to it, ran over to the couch, where the tenant tried to grab it, the report said. —Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 20 May 2025

The removal part is that CO2 absorbed by the trees is never re-emitted at the plant when biomass waste is combusted. —Ben Geman, Axios, 11 Apr. 2025

Electric ground source heat pumps extracting heat from geothermal wells in winter deliver at least three times as much heat as the equivalent of electric power input, and will be less expensive than combusting natural gas. —David Englert, Hartford Courant, 3 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

derivative of earlier combust, combusted "burned, consumed," going back to Middle English combust, borrowed from Latin combustus, past participle of combūrere "to destroy with fire, reduce to ashes, calcine," from com- com- + ūrere "to expose to fire, burn, scorch" (with -b- from ambūrere "to burn around, scorch," falsely parsed as am- + būrere) — more at adust

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for combust

• adjust
• discussed
• disgust
• distrust
• entrust
• intrust
• mistrust
• nonplussed
• robust
• sawdust
• stardust
• unjust

Kids Definition

combust

verb

com·​bust kəm-ˈbəst 

: to be or set on fire : burn