English Dictionary |
BARNBURNER
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
Dictionary entry overview: What does barnburner mean?
• BARNBURNER (noun)
The noun BARNBURNER has 2 senses:
1. someone who burns down a barn
2. an impressively successful event
Familiarity information: BARNBURNER used as a noun is rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
Someone who burns down a barn
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("barnburner" is a kind of...):
arsonist; firebug; incendiary (a criminal who illegally sets fire to property)
Sense 2
Meaning:
An impressively successful event
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural events
Context example:
the rock concert was a real barnburner
Hypernyms ("barnburner" is a kind of...):
success (an event that accomplishes its intended purpose)
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
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