Barnburner Definition & Meaning

American

Usage

Etymology

Examples

barnburner American [bahrn-bur-ner] / ˈbɑrnˌbɜr nər /

noun

1. Informal. something that is highly exciting, impressive, etc..

   The All Stars game was a real barnburner.

2. Chiefly Pennsylvania. a wooden friction match.

3. (initial capital letter) a member of the progressive faction in the Democratic Party in New York State 1845–52.

Usage

What does barnburner mean? A barnburner is something that is especially exciting, thrilling, or impressive. It’s most commonly applied to sports games.Barnburner is a sports cliché. It’s especially used to refer to matchups that are consistently exciting throughout the entire game and then go down to wire, which is another sports cliché that means that they’re not decided until the very end of the game.Example: Did you catch that triple-overtime game last night? What a barnburner!

Etymology

Origin of barnburner

1835–45, barn 1 + burner; barnburner ( def. 3 ) so called with reference to burning down a barn to get rid of rats

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Ready For Love” is a regal, devotional folk ballad on record, but when India.Arie puts down her guitar and pulls out her flute for solos in concert, it’s an instant barnburner.

From Los Angeles Times

Lulu also gets the show’s best song, a barnburner of a feminist anthem called “Independently Owned.”

From New York Times

After a banner year for pop music, Sunday's Grammy award show was quite the barnburner for pop culture discourse.

From Salon

One of the recurring punchlines went something like this: “If you think this is a barnburner, wait for Commanders-Bears next Thursday.”

From Washington Times

The Seahawks-Lions game was a barnburner, as both teams combined for 94 points and over 1,000 yards of total offense!

From Seattle Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.