A Burner Phone Is Meant to Be Thrown Away
A burner produces a flame, or a disposable device. The slang sense means something used briefly and discarded.
A burner is a device that produces a flame, such as a hob ring or a laboratory Bunsen. Slang added a second sense drawn from the idea of destroying evidence: a *burner* phone or account is one used briefly and then abandoned. The word implies not just cheapness but deliberate disposal.
- A flame-producing device. *A gas burner.*
- A disposable phone or account. *A burner phone.*
- Back burner — postponed. *Put it on the back burner.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | burner | A front burner. |
| Plural | burners | Four burners. |
| Verb | burn | Burn the toast. |
| Compound | Bunsen burner | A Bunsen burner. |
| Idiom | back burner | On the back burner. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The project is on the back burner.Deferred.
- He used a burner account.Temporary and anonymous.
- Light the Bunsen burner.Laboratory.
Kinds of burner
- Bunsen burner — the laboratory gas flame, named after Robert Bunsen
- Hob burner — a ring on a cooker
- Oil burner — the combustion unit in a boiler
- Burner phone — a cheap prepaid handset used briefly
- Burner account — a temporary anonymous online identity
From *burn*, Old English *beornan*. The disposable sense arose in American slang in the late twentieth century.
Where does *back burner* come from?
From cooking: dishes needing less attention are moved to the rear rings of the stove.
Why is it called a burner phone?
Because it is meant to be used and discarded, as if burned, leaving no lasting connection to the user.