burn away

burn away

1. To continue burning (as of something that is already ablaze). We watched helplessly as our house burned away despite the firefighters' efforts. The candles on the birthday cake burned away while Molly made a wish.
2. To obliterate with fire, as of an object or substance that has been ignited. It's getting cold in here again because all the logs in the fireplace have burned away.
3. To use heat to remove something, as in a medical procedure. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "burn" and "away." The doctor told me that he will have to burn away some tissue to alleviate my pain.
See also: away, burn
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

burn something away

to remove or destroy something by burning. The doctor burned the wart away. The doctor burned away the wart.
See also: away, burn

burn away

 
1. [for something] to burn until there is no more of it. All the oil burned away. The logs burned away and the fireplace was cooling down.
2. for something to keep on burning. The little fire burned away brightly, warming the tiny room. The candle burned away, giving a tiny bit of light to the huge room.
See also: away, burn
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • be far and away
  • are we away
  • Are we away?
  • away
  • draw away
  • do away with
  • do away with (someone, something, or oneself)
  • draw away from (someone or something)
  • dwindle away
  • drift away
References in periodicals archive
They say Burn Away and another track, Patterns, were inspired by the tens of thousands of their fellow Teessiders once employed in the iron and steelmaking process.
Ammonia in the wet, urine and excreta soaked litter in which they are forced to live in causes ulcerated feet and hock burns and can literally burn away their breast feathers.
The MI-400 has a working temperature range of 350[degrees]C, with short excursions up to 400[degrees]C where many conventional switches would just burn away or fail.
Every idea you share is a light that will burn away a bit of this early fog I'm in.
With the exception of some coatings and decoration, cans are constructed from one, consistent material (coatings burn away quickly in the metal recycling process and contribute to energy savings).
A charity's fun run organiser is challenging YOU to dust off your running shoes and burn away your winter pounds.
I stuff my face like a glutton, but it seems to burn away."
For a start thegovernment could decree that most of the street lights that burn away all night should be switched off.
At a certain point, this PM must be removed through regeneration, the process by which the temperature of the exhaust flowing through the DPF reaches a sufficient level to simply burn away the built-up particulates.
Besides affecting the body's motion, these forces pummel it, break it apart, and burn away its surface, says Bland.
The company has to take the temperature up to 750 [degrees] F to get the urethane to burn away from the hubs.
The basic principle behind the operation is that the surgeon uses a computerised laser to burn away part of the cornea - the clear part of the front of the eye through which light travels to reach the retina - and reshapes it in such a way as to deflect light and correct any visual problems.
Thermal Systems--Thermal reclamation uses heat to burn away binders and other materials in the sand.
Available in a brush-top can or aerosol, the lubricant contains tenacious metals, oils and graphite materials that will not burn away or be removed by slow-moving parts.
The ardent fire suppression of the past few decades means that a lot of underbrush, fallen branches, and dead and dying trees; that would otherwise burn away every couple of years haven't done so.