Meanings
plural burger burns
- governmentAn event where hamburgers are grilled and served, often as a fundraiser or team-building exercise.
The proceeds from the Burger Burn – $363, directly benefited the Nightingale House here on WPAFB.
1998 January 29, Buckeye Flyer, volume 38, page 41 more example
A column on the website We Are The Mighty titled "32 Terms Only Airmen Will Understand" in February, for example, defined the whole airman concept as "An enlisted performance review system designed to keep you from earning a perfect rating (and ultimately a BTZ promotion) despite being the best performer in your unit at your actual job function, because you didn't volunteer to pick up trash at the squadron commander's mandatory fun burger burn."
2015 June 22, Stephen Losey, “Kelly: Volunteering won't help you get promoted anymore”, in Air Force Times
Origin
(ham)burger + burn (in the sense of overcooking)
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
burger burn. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/burger%20burn
“burger burn.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/burger%20burn. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “burger burn,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/burger%20burn.
Source: burger burn on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.