- To suppress or extinguish quietly; stifle: burked the investigation by failing to reappoint the commission.
- To avoid; disregard: “To make The Tempest a tragic and depressing play he was willing to burke all the elements that made it the exact opposite” (Robert M. Adams).
- To execute (someone) by suffocation so as to leave the body intact and suitable for dissection.
[After William Burke (1792–1829), Irish-born grave robber and murderer.]







