burner phone

American

[bur-ner fohn] / ˈbɜr nər ˌfoʊn /

noun

Informal.

a disposable cell phone with prepaid service, often used with the intent to temporarily obscure the true identity or contact information of the user: I always give out the number from my burner phone when I’m going on a blind date.

Members of the cartel used burner phones to evade federal surveillance.
I always give out the number from my burner phone when I’m going on a blind date.

Etymology

Origin of burner phone

2000–05; burn ¹ ( def. ) (perhaps in the slang sense “to disclose the identity of”) + -er ¹ ( def. ) + phone ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In a Los Angeles County jewelry heist, investigators last year linked a burner phone from a traffic accident to the heist location and to other crimes.

From Los Angeles Times

The school can't afford pouches or lockers, and they have noticed some students hand in a second "burner phone" or a broken phone if caught.

From BBC

Adjusting to post-Traitors fame can be difficult to manage, but one star of the show admitted the police were called after she tried to buy a burner phone to help manage her social media.

From BBC

After the show began airing Fiona Hughes, 62, from Swansea, said she opened an Instagram account with the help of her son - but was advised to get a burner phone to manage it.

From BBC

"And I said, 'yes, the man's gone out the back to get it'. And they said, 'Can I ask you why you want a burner phone'."

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023