backburner
noun, verb
backburner is spelled B-A-C-K-B-U-R-N-E-R: 10 letters. It appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 89,388th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, backburner means “Alternative form of back burner” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of backburner is backburners.
How many letters and syllables are in backburner?
| Letters | 10: B-A-C-K-B-U-R-N-E-R |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 9 million words; the 89,388th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is backburner?
Backburner appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 89,388th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce backburner?
- US
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-backburner.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with backburner
Also written: back-burner (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of backburner
- backburners plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- backburnering participle, present
- backburnered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does backburner mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Alternative form of back burner.
verb
- 1
informalTo relegate to a lower priority.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Backburner in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to relegate to a lower priority:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | zurückstellen |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does backburner come from?
From back + burner.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).