burn
v.— «Build quality depends on two things: spares used and quality control system. The first criterion relates to “compatibility” or how well the components can work with each other.…Before a set goes on sale from a reputed company’s assembly line, it undergoes a process called “burning” or mock usage for a long duration under controlled physical and electronic environment. Its performance is monitored and rated. Interestingly, the same can be done with several software.…These are available with good assemblers who can “burn” your machine before you start using it.» —“Branded or assembled?” by Abhishek Bhaduri The Statesman (Kolkata, India) Dec. 3, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
What if, instead of being an inanimate object, a dictionary were alive? That’s the idea behind a lavishly illustrated new children’s book called The Dictionary Story (Bookshop|Amazon) by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston. This is part of a...
Jim in Columbia, South Carolina, has noticed sportscasters’ use of the phrase on the season with reference to a period of time. This construction shows up in the sports pages as early as the 1880s, first referring to a team’s revenue and...