sec·ond-de·gree burn (s?k??nd-d?-gr??)n. A burn that blisters the skin and is more severe than a first-degree burn.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.second-degree burn n (Pathology) pathol See burn123 Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014burn1 (b?rn) v. burned burnt, burn?ing, v.i. 1. to consume fuel and give off heat, gases, and usu. light; be on fire. 2. a. to undergo combustion; oxidize. b. to undergo fission or fusion. 3. (of a fireplace, furnace, etc.) to contain a fire. 4. to give off light; glow brightly: The lights burned all night. 5. to be hot: The pavement burned in the noon sun. 6. to produce or feel sharp pain or a stinging sensation: The whiskey burned in his throat. 7. to be injured, damaged, scorched, or destroyed by fire, heat, or acid. 8. to feel extreme anger. 9. to feel strong emotion: to burn with desire. 10. to sunburn. 11. Slang. to die in an electric chair. 12. to be engraved by or as if by burning: His words burned into her heart. v.t. 13. to cause to undergo combustion or be consumed partly or wholly by fire. 14. to use as fuel or as a source of light: to burn coal. 15. to sunburn. 16. to injure, damage, scorch, or destroy with or as if with fire. 17. to execute by burning at the stake. 18. to produce with or as if with fire: to burn a hole. 19. to cause sharp pain or a stinging sensation in: The iodine burned his cut. 20. Slang. to cheat, deceive, or swindle: burned by a phony stock deal. 21. to record data on (a compact disc). 22. burn down, to burn to the ground. 23. burn in, a. (in printing from a photographic negative) to expose (parts of an image) to more light for increased density. b. to run (a new computer or other electronic system) continuously for several hours or days, as a test of quality before delivery to the purchaser. 24. burn off, (of morning mist) to be dissipated by the warmth of the rising sun. 25. burn out, a. to cease operating or functioning because of heat, friction, or lack of fuel. b. to deprive of a place to live, work, etc., by reason of fire. c. to exhaust (oneself) or become exhausted or apathetic through overwork, stress, or intense activity. 26. burn up, a. to burn completely. b. Informal. to make or become angry. n. 27. a burned place or area. 28. an injury caused by heat, abnormal cold, chemicals, poison gas, or electricity, and characterized by a painful reddening and swelling of the epidermis (first-degree burn), damage extending into the dermis, usu. with blistering (second-degree burn), or destruction of the epidermis and dermis extending into the deeper tissue (third-degree burn). 29. the process or an instance of burning or baking, as in brickmaking. 30. the firing of a rocket engine. 31. Slang. a swindle. Idioms: 1. burn one’s fingers, to suffer injury or loss by meddling or by acting rashly. 2. burn the candle at both ends, to use up one’s strength or energy by immoderation. 3. burn the midnight oil, to work, study, etc., until late at night. [before 900; Middle English bernen, brennen, Old English beornan (intrans.)] burn?a?ble, adj. burn2 (b?rn) n. Scot. a brook or rivulet. [before 900; Middle English b(o)urne, Old English burna, brunna brook] Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.