Meaning & use
burned
Last updated
“burned” is a form of “burn”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
Past tense and past participle of burn: destroyed, damaged or harmed something with fire or heat, or was destroyed in that way.
Grammar: With an object: she burned the letters. Without one: the toast burned.
Patterns
- burned something
- something burned
- burned down
She burned the toast while she was answering the phone.
The old barn burned for two hours before the fire crews arrived.
He burned his hand on the hot pan.
verbtransitive or intransitive
Past tense and past participle of burn in the sense of using up energy or fuel, or of feeling a strong emotion or sensation.
Grammar: With an object for fuel or calories: the engine burned oil. Without an object for feelings: his cheeks burned.
Patterns
- burned calories
- burned with something
The car burned a lot of fuel on the long hill.
We burned about 400 calories on the hike.
Her face burned with embarrassment when everyone laughed.
adjectivebefore a noun
Damaged, harmed or made unusable by fire or heat, or by sunlight.
Grammar: Usually comes before a noun: a burned finger; after a verb it often becomes burned out or burnt.
Patterns
- burned toast
- a burned finger
The kitchen smelled of burned toast.
He treated a burned finger under cold water.
Firefighters searched the burned building for survivors.
Word forms
| base form | burn |
|---|---|
| third person singular | burns |
| -ing form | burning |
| British variant | burnt |
Common combinations
- burned to the ground
- The wooden church burned to the ground in minutes.
- burned out
- After three years of night shifts, she felt completely burned out.
- burned toast
- He scraped the burned toast into the trash.
- burned his fingers
- He burned his fingers on his first investment, so he is now careful with money.
- burned through
- We burned through our savings in six months.
Synonyms and how they differ
- scorched
- Scorched means damaged on the surface by heat, so it is lighter than burned, which can mean total destruction.
- charred
- Charred suggests the item has turned black from fire, and it is more descriptive than the general word burned.
- singed
- Singed means only slightly burned at the edge, such as hair or fabric, so it is much weaker than burned.
- scalded
- Scalded is used only for injury by hot liquid or steam, while burned works for any heat source.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: burned or burnt?
burned vs burnt
Burnt is the British variant of the past form and the usual adjective in British English; both burned and burnt are accepted.
Practice
Which sentence uses burned correctly as the past tense?
Choose one answer.
Has burned is a correct present perfect with a past participle. The other options mix tenses or use burned after is in a way that does not make sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “burned”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.