hamburger

noun

ham·​burg·​er ˈham-ˌbər-gər 

variants or hamburg

ˈham-ˌbərg 

1

a

: ground beef

b

: a patty of ground beef

2

: a sandwich consisting of a patty of hamburger in a split typically round bun

Examples of hamburger in a Sentence

They served hot dogs and hamburgers at the cookout.

Add the cooked hamburger to the sauce.

Recent Examples on the Web

Any recipe that could be made with beef, my mother made with deer meat — hamburgers, spaghetti sauce, pot roast, and more. —Alice Jones Webb, Outdoor Life, 5 Dec. 2024

The toddler ate a few bites of her father’s Quarter Pounder hamburger with onions during a family road trip on Oct. 2. —Jonel Aleccia, Fortune, 4 Dec. 2024

Quarter Pounder hamburgers are a core menu item for McDonald’s, raking in billions of dollars each year. —Annika Kim Constantino,amelia Lucas, CNBC, 3 Dec. 2024

Happy Meals come with a hamburger, a 4-piece McNuggets, or a 6-piece McNuggets. —Chad Murphy, The Enquirer, 3 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

German Hamburger of Hamburg, Germany

First Known Use

1884, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

hamburger

noun

ham·​burg·​er ˈham-ˌbər-gər 

variants or hamburg

-ˌbərg 

1

a

: ground beef

b

: a cooked patty of ground beef

2

: a sandwich consisting of a patty of hamburger in a split round bun

Etymology

German Hamburger (adjective) "of Hamburg," city in Germany

Word Origin

It may seem odd that there isn't any ham in a hamburger. The origins of the word hamburger, however, have nothing to do with a type of meat. The word really comes from the name of the German city Hamburg. Hamburger, when capitalized, means "of Hamburg." Cakes of ground beef, often served raw, were a popular food in northern Germany in the 19th century, and so they became known in English as Hamburger steaks. The name was later shortened to hamburger. Most people no longer associate the word hamburger with the city of Hamburg, since the hamburger is now usually thought of as an American food.