Phrase guide

mortgage burner

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A cash crop or choice of livestock regarded as the best bet for a smallholder farmer in some particular time and place (under current market conditions).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: agriculture, business, lifestyle

Examples

  • Hogs were a mortgage burner at the time; a new hoghouse could pay its way.
  • Tobacco was considered a mortgage burner in that day.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: mortgage lifter

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cash crop, crop

History

Etymology

From the notion of burning the mortgage note (promissory note) after paying off the mortgage.