to burn up
22
3.4
- phrasal verb
- /bɜrn ʌp/
:
quemar
- He found that gardening could help him burn up energy and stay fit.
- burn up calories
- burn up energy
- burn up fuel
OK, so the first thing that has to happen for body fat to get burned up or used and reduced is that it has to get mobilized.
- OK, so the first thing that has to happen for body fat to get burned up or used and reduced is that it has to get mobilized.
- And then I came up with the the best drink for if you want to, you have two choices, burn up or work out like a madman.
Examples
-
You can't imagine the number of cells you burn up every day.
-
If you jog regularly, you can burn up to 300 calories in just half an hour.
-
Eventually, they burn up all their fuel.
Academic text (1992) -
Every day I drove to work, burning up energy as I went.
Blog text (34) -
It's the rate at which our bodies burn up the calories in the three food groups: protein, carbohydrate, and fat.
Blog text (25) -
If you are close to your workplace, your half-hour bicycle commute can burn up calories both to and from work.
Blog text (4) -
Her new workout plan helps her burn up calories faster than before.
Synonyms
194
3.2
To make someone very tired
191
3.2
To use up money, energy, or other resources
69
2.7
To finish all of something so nothing is left
23
3.5
To get rid of something by exercising or paying money
23
3.1
Use up money or time quickly
8
3.4
Use up energy by physical activity
7
6.7
To change useful energy into heat so it cannot do work
Antonyms
How Much Energy
Surface Forms
Morphology
burn + up
The meaning 'to be completely destroyed or consumed by fire' is compositionally derivable from 'burn' (to be consumed by fire/consume) plus the particle 'up', which commonly adds a completive/totality sense. This phrasal-verb pattern is frequent and cross-linguistically accessible, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would likely infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
The phrasal verb burn up comes from the image of fuel being burned up until it is gone, like wood in a fire or petrol in an engine. So when you say someone 'burns up' calories or fuel, you mean 'to use energy'.