(1) To delete crypto, see
crypto burning.
(2) To write a write-once optical medium such as a CD-R, DVD-R or BD-R disc. Such a disc is considered "burned," because once recorded, it cannot be erased and rewritten. The term is also erroneously used for rewritable disks, such as CD-RWs and DVD-RWs, but rewritable media are not "burned;" they are "written." Burn means "once and done." See
CD-R,
DVD-R and
DVD+R. See also
burn in.
A Burned Disc
You can see the "burned" part of this CD-R disc by noticing the slight change in reflectivity on the recording side. In this example, the arrow points to the end of the small recorded area, which is less than 6% of the 700MB capacity of the disc.