burr

¹

[ bur ]

noun

1. Also a protruding, ragged edge raised on the surface of metal during drilling, shearing, punching, or engraving.
2. a rough or irregular protuberance on any object, as on a tree.
3. a small, handheld, power-driven milling cutter, used by machinists and die makers for deepening, widening, or undercutting small recesses.
4. a lump of brick fused or warped in firing.

verb (used with object)

1. to form a rough point or edge on.
2. deburr.

burr

²

or bur

[ bur ]

noun

1. a washer placed at the head of a rivet.
2. a blank punched out of a piece of sheet metal.

burr

³

[ bur ]

noun

1. a pronunciation of the r- sound as a uvular trill, as in certain Northern English dialects.
2. a pronunciation of the r- sound as an alveolar flap or trill, as in Scottish English.
3. any pronunciation popularly considered rough or nonurban.
4. a whirring noise.

verb (used without object)

1. to speak with a burr.
2. to speak roughly, indistinctly, or inarticulately.
3. to make a whirring sound.

verb (used with object)

1. to pronounce (words, sounds, etc.) with a burr.

burr

⁴

or buhr

[ bur ]

noun

1. burstone.

Burr

⁵

[ bur ]

noun

1. Aaron, 1756–1836, vice president of the U.S. 1801–05.

burr

¹

/ bɜː /

noun

1. short for buhrstone
2. a mass of hard siliceous rock surrounded by softer rock

Burr

²

/ bɜː /

noun

1. BurrAaron17561836MUSPOLITICS: statesman Aaron . 1756–1836, US vice-president (1800–04), who fled after killing a political rival in a duel and plotted to create an independent empire in the western US; acquitted (1807) of treason

burr

³

/ bɜː /

noun

1. a washer fitting around the end of a rivet
2. a blank punched out of sheet metal

burr

⁴

/ bɜː /

noun

1. a small power-driven hand-operated rotary file, esp for removing burrs or for machining recesses
2. a rough edge left on a workpiece after cutting, drilling, etc
3. a rough or irregular protuberance, such as a burl on a tree
4. a burl on the trunk or root of a tree, sliced across for use as decorative veneer

noun

1. a variant spelling of bur

verb

1. to form a rough edge on (a workpiece)
2. to remove burrs from (a workpiece) by grinding, filing, etc; deburr

burr

⁵

/ bɜː /

noun

1. phonetics an articulation of (r) characteristic of certain English dialects, esp the uvular fricative trill of Northumberland or the retroflex r of the West of England
2. a whirring sound

verb

1. to pronounce (words) with a burr
2. to make a whirring sound

Word History and Origins

Origin of burr¹

First recorded in 1605–15; spelling variant of bur ¹

Origin of burr²

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English burrewez (plural), buruhe “circle,” variant of brough “round tower”; broch

Origin of burr³

First recorded in 1750–60; apparently both imitative and associative, the sound being thought of as rough like a bur

Origin of burr⁴

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English burre, probably so called from its roughness

Word History and Origins

Origin of burr¹

C18: probably from bur , from its qualities of roughness

Origin of burr²

C16 (in the sense: broad ring on a spear): variant of burrow (in obsolete sense: borough )

Origin of burr³

C14: variant of bur

Origin of burr⁴

C18: either special use of bur (in the sense: rough sound) or of imitative origin

Example Sentences

The following year, his balloon burst a mile above the ground in Virginia, and his re-attempt at the flight saw him wrecked among burr chestnut trees and almost killed.

From Salon

A longtime champion of the oppressed, and a burr to the powerful.

From Los Angeles Times

“Should you have a smile on your face coming to the rink? Absolutely. Should you have a little burr in your saddle every night as the puck drops? Yeah, for sure.”

From Seattle Times

When my countertop burr grinder broke, I picked up this slender, portable grinder from my local coffee shop: It turns out it’s a keeper!

From Los Angeles Times

I think he was brought in as a burr that we remember in Ethan’s shoe.

From New York Times