burr
English · Thesaurus
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
burr¹
- /bɝ/ US
- /bɜː/ Australia, UK
- /bʌr/ Scotland
- /bøː/ New Zealand
- /beː/
- /bɛː/
Sounds like bur, Burr, brr, birr (fern–fir–fur merger), bare, bear (both fair–fur merger) · Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ), -ʌr
Where it comes from
From Middle English burre, perhaps related to Old English byrst (“bristle”). Cognate with Danish burre, borre (“burdock, burr”), Swedish borre (“sea-urchin”).
noun burrs
- A sharp, pointy object, such as a sliver or splinter.
-
Alternative form of bur (“rough, prickly husk around the seeds or fruit of some plants”).
[…] nay Friar, I am a kind of Burre, I ſhal ſticke.
Similar: sticker
- A small piece of material left on an edge after a cutting operation. You left a bunch of burrs on those parts yesterday. You've already been told not to miss the deburring operation.
- A thin flat piece of metal, formed from a sheet by punching; a small washer put on the end of a rivet before it is swaged down.
- A broad iron ring on a tilting lance just below the grip, to prevent the hand from slipping.
- A metal ring at the top of the hand-rest on a spear. And there kyng Arthur smote syr mordred vnder the shelde wyth a foyne of his spere thorughoute the body more than a fadom / And whan syr Mordred felte that he had hys dethes wounde / He thryst hym self wyth the myght that he had vp to the bur of kynge Arthurs spere / And right so he smote his fader
- The ear lobe.
- A burr knot or burl. We notice wild bees gathering sap in a burr of the third mango tree[.]
- The knot at the bottom of an antler.
- A revolving disk or cone with abrasive surfaces used to grind hard products in a grinder or mill. burr grinder
verb burrs · burring · burred
- To grind using a burr (revolving disk or cone with abrasive surfaces).
burr²
- /bɝ/ US
- /bɜː/ Australia, UK
- /bʌr/ Scotland
- /bøː/ New Zealand
- /beː/
- /bɛː/
Sounds like bur, Burr, brr, birr (fern–fir–fur merger), bare, bear (both fair–fur merger) · Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ), -ʌr
Where it comes from
Onomatopoeic, influenced by bur. Compare to French bruire.
noun burrs
- A rough humming sound.
- A uvular "r" sound, or (by extension) an accent characterized by this sound. Foote’s mimicry was exquisitely ludicrous, but it was all caricature. He could take off only some strange peculiarity, a stammer or a lisp, a Northumbrian burr or an Irish brogue, a stoop or a shuffle.
verb burrs · burring · burred
- To pronounce with a uvular "r".
- To make a rough humming sound. The first thing Lucy noticed as she went in was a burring sound, and the first thing she saw was a kind-looking old she-beaver sitting in the corner with a thread in her mouth working busily at her sewing machine, and it was from it that the sound came.
burr³
- /bɝ/ US
- /bɜː/ Australia, UK
- /bʌr/ Scotland
- /bøː/ New Zealand
- /beː/
- /bɛː/
Sounds like bur, Burr, brr, birr (fern–fir–fur merger), bare, bear (both fair–fur merger) · Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ), -ʌr
Where it comes from
Like brough, an alternative form of burgh (“mound, settlement”) employed in a special sense; thus a doublet of those terms, borough, Brough, burrow, and Bury.
noun burrs
-
Synonym of brough (“halo around the sun or moon”)
Far burr, near rain; Near burr, far rain.
Similar: brough
burr⁴
- /bɝ/ US
- /bɜː/ Australia, UK
- /bʌr/ Scotland
- /bøː/ New Zealand
- /beː/
- /bɛː/
Sounds like bur, Burr, brr, birr (fern–fir–fur merger), bare, bear (both fair–fur merger) · Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ), -ʌr
Where it comes from
From burl.
noun burrs
- Alternative spelling of burl
Burr⁵
- /bɝ/ US
- /bɜː/ Australia, UK
- /bʌr/ Scotland
- /bøː/ New Zealand
- /beː/
- /bɛː/
Sounds like bur, burr, birr (fern–fir–fur merger), bare, bear (both fair–fur merger) · Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ), -ʌr
proper noun
- A surname. One Nation, a new 501(c)4 linked to the Karl-Rove-backed American Crossroads super PAC, is spending more than $1.9 million on print, radio and digital ads highlighting the efforts of Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and
- An unincorporated community in Florida Township, Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota.
- An unincorporated community in Ripley County, Missouri.
- A village in Otoe County, Nebraska, named after burr oak trees.
- An unincorporated community in Wharton County, Texas.
- An unincorporated community in Pocahontas County, West Virginia.
- A community in Rural Municipality of Wolverine No. 340, central Saskatchewan, Canada.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: bur, yes, thorn, barb, spine, sticker, prickle, brier, cocklebur, stickseed, sandbur, spike, bristle, hook, spur, awn
Translations
Every language
noun sliver or splinter
| Español | astilla, limadura, esquirla |
|---|---|
| Français | écharde |
| Deutsch | Splitter |
| Italiano | scheggia |
noun seed pod with sharp features
| Español | cadillo |
|---|---|
| Português | ouriço, carrapicho |
| Français | bardane |
| Deutsch | Klette |
| Italiano | riccio |
| Русский | репе́й repéj, колю́чка koljúčka |
noun material left on an edge after cutting
| Español | rebaba, filván |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | バリ bari |
| Português | rebarba |
| Français | barbe |
| Deutsch | Grat |
| Italiano | sbavatura, bava |
| Русский | заусе́нец zausénec, грат grat, зади́р zadír |
noun revolving disk or cone with abrasive surfaces
| Español | muela |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Mahlscheibe, Mahlstein, Mahlwerk |
| Italiano | macina |
noun pronunciation of "r"
| Español | erre francesa |
|---|---|
| Português | rotacismo |
| Français | grasseyement |
| Italiano | erre moscia |
| Ελληνικά | λαρυγγισμός laryngismós |
| Română | graseiere |
| Русский | карта́вость kartávostʹ, грасси́рование grassírovanije |
verb to pronounce "r"
| Español | arrastrar las erres |
|---|---|
| Français | grasseyer |
| Deutsch | ratschen |
| Italiano | parlare con la erre moscia |
| Română | graseia |
| Русский | карта́вить kartávitʹ, грасси́ровать grassírovatʹ |
Talk about this word "burr." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/burr. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. burr. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/burr "burr." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/burr.Cite this
@misc{burr_2026,
title = {burr},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/burr},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
