What does burking mean?
Burking is a verb meaning to kill by smothering or suffocation in a way that leaves no outward mark on the body, or, by extension, to suppress something quietly and thoroughly. The term comes from William Burke, executed in Edinburgh in 1829 after he and William Hare murdered at least sixteen people and sold their bodies to anatomists for dissection. Because the corpses needed to be undamaged to command a good price, Burke avoided knives and instead suffocated his victims, and his method gave English a lasting eponym. In modern usage burking survives mostly in British political and journalistic language, where to burke an inquiry means to stifle it, prevent it from reaching conclusions, or bury it without public acknowledgment. The literal sense is now chiefly historical, but both uses retain grim connotations, making burking a vivid word for concealment achieved through silence or death.
verb (gerund/participle)The act of killing someone by smothering or strangling so as to leave no marks on the body, done historically to supply corpses for dissection; more broadly, the suppression or quiet hushing-up of something, such as information or debate.
- Killing someone by smothering or suffocation without leaving visible injury, originally to sell the body for anatomical dissection (historical).
- Figuratively, suppressing, stifling, or quietly hushing up discussion, information, or an investigation.
"The committee was accused of burking the inquiry rather than letting it run its course."
"The press suspected the government of burking the scandal until public attention moved elsewhere."
"In Victorian slang, burking referred to murder committed so the victim's body could be sold to anatomy schools."
Named after a real 19th-century murderer who killed people specifically because their corpses would fetch a good price from anatomists.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of burking
Burking is an eponym derived directly from William Burke, one of the notorious Edinburgh murderers executed in 1829 for killing victims whose bodies were sold to anatomists for dissection. Because intact corpses fetched higher prices, Burke dispatched his victims by suffocation rather than wounding them, and his method became known as burking shortly after his trial. The word quickly acquired a figurative sense of quietly suppressing information or debate, which remains its main living use today.
Related word forms
How burking is actually used
Both senses are now largely historical or literary. The figurative sense appears mainly in British political and journalistic writing about suppressed inquiries. The word carries strong sinister connotations due to its origin in the Burke and Hare murders of 1828.
Easily confused with burking
Birking is a rare dialectal or misspelling with no standard meaning, whereas burking derives from the name William Burke and denotes smothering for anatomical dissection or figuratively suppressing something.
A burka is a garment worn by some Muslim women covering the body and face, entirely unrelated to burking despite a superficial sound resemblance.