What does burke mean?
To "burke" something is to suppress it, avoid it, or prevent it from coming to light — especially a difficult question, damaging report, or inconvenient investigation — usually through evasion or quiet manipulation rather than open argument. The verb is chiefly British and carries a faintly formal, journalistic flavor: a newspaper might say the government "burked" an inquiry when officials shelved it to dodge embarrassment. The word has a grisly origin. It derives from William Burke, an Irish laborer executed in Edinburgh in 1829 for murdering at least sixteen people and selling their bodies to anatomists for dissection; he and his accomplice suffocated their victims so the corpses would fetch full price. The practice briefly gave English the verbs "to burke" (to kill by suffocation) and "to burk," but the sense that survived was the figurative one: to silence or bury a matter, much as Burke's crimes were eventually covered up by authorities eager to avoid scrutiny.
To suppress, avoid, or set aside (a question, report, or other matter) by evasive or underhanded means.
"The committee was accused of burking the evidence rather than addressing it openly."
Usually applied to institutional or official evasion of awkward issues; rare outside British usage.
To murder by smothering or strangling, after the method of William Burke.
"In early Victorian fiction, villains were occasionally said to have burked their victims."
Largely obsolete; encountered only in historical contexts.
This word comes from William Burke, the notorious 1820s Edinburgh murderer who sold his victims' bodies to anatomists — and whose name became a verb for silencing things.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of burke
The word derives from William Burke, one of the infamous West Port murderers of 1820s Edinburgh, who with his associate William Hare killed victims and sold their bodies to anatomists. After his conviction and execution in 1829, his surname entered English as a verb meaning both to kill by suffocation (in imitation of his methods) and, more durably, to suppress or evade a matter. The figurative sense is the one that survives today, used mainly in British English. There are no significant foreign cognates, since the word is an eponym rather than inherited from another language.
How burke is actually used
"Burke" is somewhat formal and literary in tone, and is far more common in British English than American English. It typically carries a connotation of deliberate, slightly dishonest evasion rather than simple postponement.
Easily confused with burke
A burrow is a hole dug by an animal as a dwelling, whereas to burke is to suppress or avoid something.