sear
To char, scorch, or burn the surface of with a hot instrumentTo char, scorch, or burn the surface of (something) with a hot instrument.
Recorded: Speaker: I learned some phrases Recorder: I learned some phrases, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
» Adriano seared the steak to perfection.
Amastan · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
4 senses(transitive)To char, scorch, or burn the surface of (something) with a hot instrument.
He likes to sear his steaks while maintaining rareness at the center.
ausbrennen, versengen, scharf anbraten
прижигатьprižigatʹ, обжигатьobžigatʹ
To wither; to dry up.
make very hot and dry
(figuratively, transitive)To make callous or insensible.
(figuratively, transitive)To mark permanently, as if by burning.
The events of that day were seared into her memory.
Examples
13 sentencesAdriano seared the steak to perfection.
That incident was forever seared into my mind.
She seared the beef in a hot pan.
Sherie is cooking some seared squid and golden potatoes.
The critic wrote a searing review of the book.
deDer Kritiker verriss das Buch. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Translations
6 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English seren, seeren, from Old English sēarian (“to become sere, to grow searFrom Middle English seren, seeren, from Old English sēarian (“to become sere, to grow sear, wither, pine away”), from Proto-West Germanic *sauʀēn (“to dry out, become dry”); compare also Proto-Germanic *sauzijaną (“to make dry”). Related to Old High German sōrēn (“to wither, wilt”). See Etymology 1 for more cognates. The use in firearms terminology may relate to French serrer (“to grip”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
sears, searing, seared, searedSynonyms
5 synonymsWord family
4 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.