idiom

Burn Rate

BURN RAYT

/bɜːrn reɪt/

Listen

Hear it in a clear American voice. Slow it down to catch each syllable.

Syllable breakdown

Burnrate

Dictionary meaning

Originally a startup term describing the rate at which a company spends its cash reserves before becoming profitable; informally used to describe how quickly someone spends money.

History and origin

Silicon Valley / startup finance terminology, popularized in the 1990s dot-com era

Examples

At their current burn rate, the startup has only six months of runway left.
With his burn rate on entertainment, he'll need a raise just to break even.

Synonyms: cash burn, spend rate, runway depletion

Pronunciation tips

Now used colloquially beyond startups. 'Runway' = how long you can survive at the current burn rate (cash / monthly burn = months of runway).

Learn one new pronunciation a day

Get a word, name or idiom like “Burn Rate” in your inbox — daily or weekly, free. Unsubscribe any time.

Something wrong? Suggest a correction