What does "burning" mean?

1. (on fire) on fire or being destroyed by flames. 2. (very hot) feeling very hot, often in a painful way. 3. (strong or urgent) describing a very strong feeling or a question that needs an answer right away. 4. (the act of fire) the process of something being on fire or being hurt by fire. 5. (cryptocurrency) the act of permanently removing digital coins from circulation to increase their value.

burning

adj. · n.

US //ˈbɝnɪŋ// UK //bˈɜːnɪŋ// burn·ing

1 on fire (adj.)
A2 Elementary

on fire or being destroyed by flames.

undergoing combustion; being consumed by fire.

Example

The smell of burning wood filled the air as they sat by the campfire.

Example

Firefighters worked through the night to prevent the burning debris from collapsing onto the neighbouring residential structures.
- ablaze
- flaming
- afire
- extinguished
2 very hot (adj.)
B1 Intermediate

feeling very hot, often in a painful way.

producing or characterised by a sensation of intense heat.

Example

He had a burning fever and needed to stay in bed all day.

Example

The athlete felt a burning sensation in her lungs as she pushed through the final hundred metres of the steep uphill climb.
- scorching
- blistering
- scalding
- freezing
- icy

Show 3 more sensesShow fewer

3 strong or urgent (adj.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

describing a very strong feeling or a question that needs an answer right away.

characterised by intense passion, urgency, or importance; often used to describe desires or topical issues.

Example

She had a burning desire to travel the world after she finished school.

Example

The committee addressed the burning issue of housing affordability, which had dominated local political discourse for several months.
- mild
- indifferent
4 the act of fire (n.)
B1 Intermediate

the process of something being on fire or being hurt by fire.

the physical process of combustion or the resulting injury or damage caused by exposure to fire or heat.

Example

The controlled burning of the fields helps the new grass grow better.

Example

The accidental burning of the historical archives resulted in the irreparable loss of several eighteenth-century manuscripts.
- combustion
- ignition
5 cryptocurrency (n.)
C1 Advanced Technical Computing

the act of permanently removing digital coins from circulation to increase their value.

the process of sending cryptocurrency tokens to an unusable address to permanently remove them from the circulating supply.

Example

The company announced a burning of one million tokens to help stabilize the price.

Example

By implementing a regular burning mechanism, the developers aimed to create deflationary pressure on the asset's total market supply.
- token burn
- minting

Origin

By surface analysis, burn + -ing.

Idioms9 entries