burnout
Americannoun
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a fire that is totally destructive of something.
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Also burn-out fatigue, frustration, or apathy resulting from prolonged stress, overwork, or intense activity.
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Rocketry.
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the termination of effective combustion in a rocket engine, due to exhaustion of propellant.
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the end of the powered portion of a rocket's flight.
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Electricity. the breakdown of a lamp, motor, or other electrical device due to the heat created by the current flowing through it.
Etymology
Origin of burnout
First recorded in 1900–05; noun use of verb phrase burn out
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
From a combination of mold exposure and severe burnout from filming “After Midnight” on weekdays and performing in different cities on weekends, she fell ill for months and was forced to take a break.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
I got Finch burnout faster than burnout from my actual day-to-day life.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026
She recently turned down an opportunity at another company that would have offered her roughly double the pay when she learned the person who held it previously left due to burnout.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
Well, burnout is a way of telling you that your form of activism was perhaps not very full circle,” she continued.
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2026
Soon there will be signs of emotional instability and forgetfulness, the first symptoms of the burnout.
From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
