How to pronounce barnburner
American English pronunciation
BARN-bur-ner
- IPA
- /ˈbɑɹnˌbɝnɚ/
- Syllables
- BARN · bur · ner (3 syllables, stress on the 1st)
Love words? Try a free round: no sign-up, about two minutes. Play free
What barnburner means
A thrilling, hard-fought contest
In a sentence: The soccer final was a barnburner that went down to the last kick.
Where it comes from: It joins barn and burner. It comes from an old joke about someone who burned down a whole barn just to get rid of the rats.
Can you spot the real meaning? Try one
Loading a word…
Can you spot the real meaning? Play Wordfib
One free round, no sign-up. Wordfib shows a word and four meanings: one real, three fibs.