burn off

Verb

burn off (third-person singular simple present burns off, present participle burning off, simple past and past participle burned off or burnt off)

1. (intransitive) To dissipate as the result of heat.
   • Near-synonyms: burn away, burn up
   • The weather by the beach can be considerably cooler—ten degrees or more— and usually starts with fog and haze that burn off by late morning.2005, Lark Gould, Los Angeles Off the Beaten Path®, page xix

   Synonyms:

   burn away, burn up

2. (transitive) To cause to dissipate by applying heat.
   • Near-synonyms: burn away, burn up
   • When he tried to light the cigarette in his mouth, he discovered he was about to burn off the filter and a fair bit of his mouth.2013, Wen Zhu, The Matchmaker, the Apprentice, and the Football Fan

   Synonyms:

   burn away, burn up

3. (intransitive, transitive, oil industry) To dispose of (unusable explosive natural gas from an oil well) by burning it as it emerges from the well.
   • Near-synonyms: burn away, burn up

   Synonyms:

   burn away, burn up, flare

4. (intransitive) To fail due to overheating.
   • Near-synonym: burn up

   Synonyms:

   burn up

5. (intransitive, transitive) To fill (low-value air time) with programming not suitable for its original purpose.
6. (transitive) To expend energy resulting from metabolizing food.
   • Near-synonyms: burn away, burn up
   • It's to encourage boys to burn off excess energy.2010, Richard Littlejohn, Littlejohn's House of Fun: Thirteen Years of (Labour) Madness, page 78

   Synonyms:

   burn away, burn up

7. (transitive) To use up a resource in a nonproductive manner.
   • Near-synonym: burn through
   • We burn off speed. We have come around very fast. Must burn off more speed.2019, David Gerrold, Bouncing Off the Moon

   Synonyms:

   burn through

8. to cause to waste energy.
   • Slick use of the resulting turnover ball gave Koroibete the space to burn off Daly, only the third try England have so far conceded in this tournament.2019 October 19, Robert Kitson, “England into World Cup semi-finals after bruising victory over Australia”, in The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media
9. (transitive) To speed past (someone), such as in a race, especially when first starting off.
   • The other competitors were way behind, having been burned off at the starting line.