burn off

present singular third person burns off · participle present burning off · participle past burned off · past burned off · participle past burnt off · past burnt off

1. intransitiveTo dissipate as the result of heat.

   Near-synonyms: burn away, burn up

   1 more example

   The weather by the beach can be considerably cooler—ten degrees or more— and usually starts with fog and haze that burn off by late morning.

   2005, Lark Gould, Los Angeles Off the Beaten Path®, page xix

   Synonyms: burn away, burn up

2. transitiveTo cause to dissipate by applying heat.

   Near-synonyms: burn away, burn up

   1 more example

   When he tried to light the cigarette in his mouth, he discovered he was about to burn off the filter and a fair bit of his mouth.

   2013, Wen Zhu, The Matchmaker, the Apprentice, and the Football Fan

   Synonyms: burn away, burn up

3. intransitivetransitiveoil industryTo dispose of (unusable explosive natural gas from an oil well) by burning it as it emerges from the well.

   Near-synonyms: burn away, burn up

   Synonyms: burn away, burn up, flare

4. intransitiverail transportTo fail due to overheating.

   Near-synonym: burn up

   Synonyms: burn up

5. intransitivetransitivebroadcastingTo fill (low-value air time) with programming not suitable for its original purpose.
6. transitiveTo expend energy resulting from metabolizing food.

   Near-synonyms: burn away, burn up

   3 more examples

   It's to encourage boys to burn off excess energy.

   2010, Richard Littlejohn, Littlejohn's House of Fun: Thirteen Years of (Labour) Madness, page 78

   To get rid of just 0.5kg (1lb) of excess fat you must burn off around 3500 calories.

   2010, Efua Baker, 15 Minute Calorie Burn Workout, page 11

   But you can burn off calories more ways than you know. Do you know you burn off a calorie by just standing still every two minutes?

   2015, James Egan, Over 100 Ways to Stop Sabotaging Your Life, page 13

   Synonyms: burn away, burn up

7. transitiveTo use up a resource in a nonproductive manner.

   Near-synonym: burn through

   2 more examples

   We burn off speed. We have come around very fast. Must burn off more speed.

   2019, David Gerrold, Bouncing Off the Moon

   “I want to burn off some of the clock before going into the end zone.

   2022, James R. Welke, The International Football League

   Synonyms: burn through

8. ball gamesto cause to waste energy.

   Slick use of the resulting turnover ball gave Koroibete the space to burn off Daly, only the third try England have so far conceded in this tournament.

   2019 October 19, Robert Kitson, “England into World Cup semi-finals after bruising victory over Australia”, in The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media

9. transitiveTo speed past (someone), such as in a race, especially when first starting off.

   The other competitors were way behind, having been burned off at the starting line.