ENGLISH
REFERENCE

burnt

v.
B1 Intermediate US //ˈbɝnt// UK //bˈɜːnt// burnt Informal

v. damaged or hurt by fire or too much heat. You use this to describe food that has cooked too long or skin that has stayed in the sun too long.

v. damaged, injured, or altered by exposure to fire or excessive heat. While technically a past participle of the verb 'burn', it functions as a central adjective in both literal and figurative contexts.


SIMPLE

The toast is burnt and tastes like charcoal.

CONTEXTUAL

He forgot to wear sunscreen at the beach and ended up with a badly burnt back.

COMPLEX

The smell of burnt rubber hung heavy in the air long after the race cars had cleared the final corner of the track.

Synonyms
Origin

From burn + -t.

Usage

Commonly used as a predicative adjective after 'is' or 'smells', or as an attributive adjective before a noun.

Pitfall

The toast is burned.The toast is burnt.While both are technically correct, 'burnt' is the preferred form for the adjective in British English, whereas 'burned' is more common as the past tense verb.

Idioms1 entry

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