Is It Burnt or Burned? | Spelling, Difference & Examples
Burnt and burned are two ways of spelling the past tense of the verb “burn,” which means “to damage something with fire or heat” or “to undergo combustion.” It’s also used as an adjective to describe something that’s damaged by fire or heat.
- In American English, “burned” is used as a verb. Both “burned” and “burnt” may be used for the adjective sense of the word.
- In British English, “burned” and “burnt” are used interchangeably for both the verb and the adjective.
It’s important to choose one spelling and use it consistently. The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you with this.
I don’t like this burned/burnt food!
I got burned/burnt so hard at my birthday roast.
Although burned and burnt are used interchangeably in the adjective sense of the word, some fixed combinations are spelled only one way (e.g., the food “burnt cream” and the color “burnt sienna”).
Burnt out or burned out (at work)
Burnt out and burned out are both correct past tense forms of the phrasal verb “burn out.” It means “become mentally exhausted due to overwork and stress” (figurative sense) or “to be destroyed by fire” (literal sense).
They can also be used as adjective phrases to mean “exhausted” or “worn out.” The phrase gets a hyphen when used in the attributive position (before the noun it modifies) but not in other positions.
The newspaper mentioned that five cars were burned out/burnt out this month!
Burned out/burnt out people have a higher chance of getting another burnout.
Burn as a regular or irregular verb
Burn can be considered either an irregular verb or a regular verb, depending on the chosen spelling of the past tense form.
- Verbs that form their past tense by adding “-ed” are regular verbs.
- Verbs that form their past tense by adding a different suffix are irregular verbs.
With verbs that can be either regular or irregular, the irregular forms are more common in British English. Other examples include dreamed or dreamt, kneeled or knelt, smelled or smelt, spelt or spelled, and learnt or learned.
Main differences between American and British English
American and British English are very similar, but there are a few main differences in spelling. Some differences are:
| Difference | Rule | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -or vs -our | In American English, many Latin-derived words end in -or. | Behavior or behaviour Color or colour Favor or favour Flavor or flavour Favorite or favourite Honor or honour Humor or humour Labor or labour Neighbor or neighbour |
| In British English, these same words end in -our. | ||
| -er vs -re | In American English, some French, Latin, or Greek words end in -er. | Center or centre Fiber or fibre Theater or theatre |
| In British English, these same words end in -re. | ||
| -ize vs -ise | In American English, many Greek-derived words end in -yze or -ize. | Analyze or analyse Organization or organisation Realize or realise Recognize or recognise |
| In British English, these words end in -yse or -ise. | ||
| -ed vs -t | In American English, most verbs are regular and form their past tense with the suffix -ed. | Burned or burnt Dreamed or dreamt Kneeled or knelt Learned or learnt Smelled or smelt Spelled or spelt Spilled or spilt |
| In British English, some of these verbs are irregular and form their past tense with the suffix -t. | ||
| Single vs double consonant | In American English, many words are spelled with a single consonant. | Buses or busses Canceled or cancelled Counselor or counsellor Focused or focussed Labeled or labelled Modeling or modelling Traveling or travelling |
| In British English, these same words are often spelled with a double consonant. | ||
| Dropping vs retaining the “e” | In American English, “e” is often dropped when forming a noun from a verb | Acknowledgment or acknowledgement Aging or ageing Judgment or judgement |
| In British English, the “e” is often retained. | ||
| Different verb and noun spellings | In American English, most words have identical verb and noun spellings. | License or licence Practice or practise |
| In British English, some words have different spellings for the verb and noun forms. | ||
| Other spelling differences | There are many other spelling differences between the two English variants. | Airplane or aeroplane Aluminum or aluminium Check or cheque Cozy or cosy Defense or defence Dependent or dependant Enrollment or enrolment Fulfil or fulfill Gray or grey Jewelry or jewellery Karat or carat Mold or mould Offense or offence Pajamas or pyjamas Program or programme Skeptical or sceptical Tire or tyre |
Other interesting articles
If you want to know more about job applications, research, or idioms, make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.
Job applications
Research
Frequently asked questions about burnt or burned
- Is it a burnt out or burned out light bulb?
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Burnt and burned are two spellings of the same verb. The usage depends on the variant of English.
- In British English, both “burned” and “burnt” are used for both the verb and adjective, but burnt-out light bulb is a bit more common.
- In American English, “burned” is used as a verb, while “burned” and “burnt” are used interchangeably as adjectives. However, burned-out light bulb is more common in American English.
It’s important to choose one spelling and use it consistently. The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you with this.
- Is it got burned or burnt?
-
Burnt and burned are two spellings of the same verb. The usage depends on the variant of English.
- In British English, both “burned” and “burnt” are used interchangeably for both the verb and the adjective, so either got burnt or got burned may be used.
- In American English, “burned” is used for the verb, and “burned” and “burnt” are both used for the adjective. Got burned is standard in American English.
It’s important to choose one spelling and use it consistently. The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you with this.
