Word
burke
US/ˈbɝk/
UK/bˈɜːk/
Definitions
01to suppress or hush up
v. to stop something from being known or discussed; to hide information.
v. to suppress, hush up, or avoid discussion of a matter quietly or indirectly.
“The committee tried to burke the report because it was critical of the government.”
“The administration attempted to burke the inquiry by withholding key documents and redirecting the press to unrelated matters.”
Formal · Literary
Usage
Usually transitive, taking the suppressed information as the direct object.
02to murder by suffocation
v. to kill someone by covering their mouth and nose so they cannot breathe.
v. to murder by suffocation, historically for the purpose of selling the body for dissection.
“The old stories told of criminals who would burke their victims in the dark alleys.”
“The term originated from the crimes of William Burke, who would burke his victims to provide fresh cadavers for medical schools.”
Archaic · British English
Teaching tip
This sense is almost exclusively used in historical or literary contexts referring to the 19th-century crimes in Edinburgh.
03a silly person
n. a person who is stupid or does something silly.
n. a foolish or stupid person; a variant spelling of 'berk'.
“Don't be such a burke; you know that's not how the machine works.”
“He felt like a complete burke after realizing he had been arguing against his own interests for the entire meeting.”
British English · Informal · Slang
Usage
Commonly used as a mild insult in British English.
Teaching tip
While 'berk' is the standard spelling, 'burke' is a recognized variant; both are derived from Cockney rhyming slang.
Antonyms
Etymology
From an Anglo-Norman pronunciation of burg.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/burke