burner phone

[ bur-ner fohn ]

noun

, Informal.

1. a disposable cell phone with prepaid service, often used with the intent to temporarily obscure the true identity or contact information of the user: I always give out the number from my burner phone when I’m going on a blind date.

   Members of the cartel used burner phones to evade federal surveillance.

   I always give out the number from my burner phone when I’m going on a blind date.

Word History and Origins

Origin of burner phone¹

2000–05; burn ¹( def ) (perhaps in the slang sense “to disclose the identity of”) + -er ¹( def ) + phone ¹( def )

Example Sentences

The two also deleted hundreds of calls and messages to a burner phone.

From Seattle Times

He saw the gangs as highly organised, with teenagers starting "work" at 09:00 handed a backpack of drugs, a burner phone, a bike and a knife, all of which were handed back at the end of the "shift".

From BBC

Prosecutors said Costanzo and Recio also used sham invoices and a company listing its address as a UPS store to disguise the bribe payments while deleting hundreds of messages and calls to a burner phone.

From Seattle Times

Prosecutors have painted Costanzo as a corrupt agent who repeatedly queried a DEA database at Recio’s behest and leaked information to him over a burner phone about several ongoing investigations.

From Seattle Times

Recio is accused in the indictment of speaking hundreds of times on a burner phone he purchased for Costanzo to allegedly coordinate unlawful searches of criminal databases.

From Seattle Times