1. (v. t.) To murder by suffocation, or so as to produce few marks of violence, for the purpose of obtaining a body to be sold for dissection.
2. (v. t.) To dispose of quietly or indirectly; to suppress; to smother; to shelve; as, to burke a parliamentary question.
Thesaurus Entries
OD, be killed, bottle up, burke, censor, choke, choke off, clamp down on, cork, cork up, crack down on, crush, damp down, drown, extinguish, famish, gag, garrote, hold down, jump on, keep down, keep under, kill, muzzle, pour water on, put down, quash, quell, quench, repress, shut down on, silence, sit down on, sit on, smash, smother, squash, squelch, stanch, starve, stifle, stop the breath, strangle, stultify, subdue, suffocate, suppress, throttle
