MEANING
To suffer unpleasant consequences, especially financial loss, after becoming involved in something risky.
Use it for
losing money through a risky decision; learning caution from a bad experience; suffering after getting involved in trouble; being harmed by an unwise ventureAdds the caution-producing experience of suffering harm after taking a risk. Writing functions: Harm from a risky experience. Semantic categories (by meaning): Risk; Consequences; Caution. Contexts: General conversation; Creative prose.
On the page
He burned his fingers on an investment he had not properly researched.
Having had her fingers burned by an unreliable partner, she checked every reference.
Word forms
- Base
- burn your fingers
Usage notes
Inflect burn: burns your fingers; burned/burnt your fingers; burning your fingers. Change the possessive with the subject. Also get/have your fingers burned or burnt. Register: informal. Commonness: moderately common (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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