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combust

verb
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com·​bust | \ kəm-ˈbəst How to pronounce combust (audio) \
combusted; combusting; combusts

Definition of combust

: burn
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Synonyms for combust

Synonyms

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Examples of combust in a Sentence

anthracite, which is naturally hard, combusts more cleanly than bituminous coal
Recent Examples on the Web Objects levitated and spontaneously combusted, Shippy said. — Darcie Moran, Detroit Free Press, "Travel Channel explores Michigan haunting in new series," 25 Jan. 2020 Curtis says of the process, which involves slightly charring the surface of the wood without combusting the whole material. — Sarah Cook Mcbride, al, "East meets West in this modern, forested farmhouse," 21 Dec. 2019 The cause is still under investigation, but an initial finding suggested that oily rags spontaneously combusted in a garage, fire officials said. — Washington Post, "Fire damages two homes in Montgomery County, causes $1 million in damage," 11 Sep. 2019 The beauty world combusted when supermodel Naomi Campbell and beauty influencer and advocate Jackie Aina both shared airtime on each of their YouTube channels. — Paula Rogo, Essence, "Six Things We Learned About Naomi Campbell From Her Viral Video With Makeup Guru Jackie Aina!," 24 Nov. 2019 Any moment, Jim Jordan will scream and combust spontaneously. — Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Doc's Morning Line: We're all going insane. Check out this defense of Maurkice Pouncey.," 20 Nov. 2019 The chemical is stable at room temperatures but releases the toxic gas hydrogen cyanide when combusted, according to the state notice to retailers. — BostonGlobe.com, "The chemical is stable at room temperatures but releases the toxic gas hydrogen cyanide when combusted, according to the state notice to retailers.," 7 Nov. 2019 The piston rings are supposed to fit tightly against the cylinder walls and scrape off all the oil before combustion takes place, so gasoline and air get combusted and your oil doesn't. — Ray Magliozzi, courant.com, "Car Talk: They don’t build cars like this anymore," 10 Nov. 2019 Told in Lillian’s refreshingly unfiltered and a-touch-crude voice, the story makes a pair of spontaneously combusting children seem plausible. — Barbara Vandenburgh, USA TODAY, "‘Nothing to See Here’ except kids on fire in Kevin Wilson’s bizarre, fun new novel," 29 Oct. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'combust.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of combust

15th century, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for combust

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

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Time Traveler for combust

Time Traveler

The first known use of combust was in the 15th century

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Statistics for combust

Last Updated

11 Feb 2020

Cite this Entry

“Combust.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/combusting. Accessed 21 Feb. 2020.

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Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with combust

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