sunburn
sun·burn/ˈsʌnˌbɝn/noun, verb
sunburn is spelled S-U-N-B-U-R-N: 7 letters and 2 syllables (sun·burn). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,789th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sunburn means “A burn on the skin caused by excess exposure to the sun's rays” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sunburn is sunburns.
How many letters and syllables are in sunburn?
| Letters | 7: S-U-N-B-U-R-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: sun·burn |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 30,789th 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 sunburn?
Sunburn appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,789th 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 sunburn?
- UK /ˈsʌnˌbɜːn/
- US /ˈsʌnˌbɝn/
Sunburn has 2 syllables, split sun·burn in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sunburn.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sunburn
- sunburns plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- sunburning participle, present
- sunburned participle, past
- sunburnt participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sunburn mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A burn on the skin caused by excess exposure to the sun's rays.
- 2
A burn on the tissue of crop plants or their fruits (especially if they are rich in water like tomatoes, grapes, apples, gooseberries) caused by excess exposure to the sun's rays.
- 3
rareSuntan.
verb
- 1
To receive a sunburn.
- 2
To burn or tan (someone's skin) by the sun; to allow (a part of one's body) to become sunburnt.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sunburn in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | coup de soleil, actinite , attraper un coup de soleil |
| German | Sonnenbrand , Sonnenbrand bekommen |
| Portuguese | queimadura solar, escaldão , apanhar um escaldão |
| Spanish | quemadura solar, quemadura de piel, quemadura , quemarse la piel |
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 sunburn come from?
From Middle English *sunne burnen, *sonne brennen, *sunne brennen (suggested by derivatives sonne brennynge, sunne brennynge (“sunburn”, literally “sun-burning”) and sunne brente (“sunburnt”), equivalent to sun + burn. Compare West Frisian sinnebrân (“sunburn”), Dutch zonnebrand (“sunburn”), German Sonnenbrand (“sunburn”), Swedish solbränna (“sunburn”), and Icelandic sólbruni (“sunburn”), as well as Old English sunbryne (“sunburn”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).