burnout
[burn-out]
- a fire that is totally destructive of something.
- Also burn-out. fatigue, frustration, or apathy resulting from prolonged stress, overwork, or intense activity.
- Rocketry.
- the termination of effective combustion in a rocket engine, due to exhaustion of propellant.
- the end of the powered portion of a rocket's flight.
- Electricity. the breakdown of a lamp, motor, or other electrical device due to the heat created by the current flowing through it.
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Origin of burnout
First recorded in 1900–05; noun use of verb phrase burn out
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for burnout
Contemporary Examples
A new study shows U.S. doctors have a burnout rate of 38 percent versus 28 percent for the general population.
Study Says Doctors More Burned Out Than Others, But It’s Not Really a MaladyKent Sepkowitz
August 23, 2012
But the burnout described in this and so many other articles is not really a malady.
Study Says Doctors More Burned Out Than Others, But It’s Not Really a MaladyKent Sepkowitz
August 23, 2012
Burnout is a real problem, with real downstream effects—poor employee performance, higher turnover, clinical depression.
Study Says Doctors More Burned Out Than Others, But It’s Not Really a MaladyKent Sepkowitz
August 23, 2012
Meet the Colbert family, where the oldest sister saved herself from burnout by finally mobilizing the men in the family to help.
Historical Examples
Burnout of the second stage came suddenly, and we heaved slightly against our belts as the springs in our seats pushed back out.
The Trouble with TelstarJohn Berryman
It would take practically absolute simultaneity to overload to the point of burnout to those Strett generators.
Masters of SpaceEdward Elmer Smith
Word Origin and History for burnout
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper