-figurativno: staviti nešto na čekanje ili privremeno odgoditi/ukloniti
(Alludes to putting a pot that needs less active attention on a back burner of a stove, leaving space for pots that need to be stirred. Compare this with on the front burner. *Typically: be ~; put something ~.)
The building project is on the back burner for now. This matter was on the back burner for a long time.
She decided to attend Harvard, where she would study political theory and put her acting career on the back burner.