Used in venture capital financing to refer to the rate at which a startup company expends capital to finance overhead costs prior to the generation of positive cash flow. Bloomberg Financial Dictionary
* * *
► See Cash Burn.
* * *
burn rate UK US noun [C]
► FINANCE the speed at which a new company spends the money that is available to it, when it is not making more money than it spends: »
The new product, launched last year, has cut the company burn rate by more than 800%.
► the speed at which something uses fuel or energy: »
The plane's in-flight systems monitor the fuel burn rate.
Financial and business terms. 2012.