peter out

Idioms  

1. Dwindle or diminish and come to an end, as in Their enthusiasm soon petered out. The origin of this usage is unknown, but one authority suggests it may refer to the apostle Peter, whose enthusiastic support of Jesus quickly diminished so that he denied knowing him three times during the night after Jesus's arrest. [Mid-1800s]

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Example Sentences

Those reports are starting to peter out now, but they could still move markets.

From Barron's • May 11, 2026

While most experts are predicting this hantavirus outbreak will peter out, it’s not the kind of prediction you want to be wrong about either.

From Salon • May 11, 2026

Navellier, for his part, told MarketWatch he was “not worried about valuations” and expected the selloff to peter out “sooner rather than later.”

From MarketWatch • Nov. 18, 2025

Now, after more than 3½ years of conflict, the gusher is slowly starting to peter out.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 28, 2025

On the fifth block, I can tell that we’ve reached the point where the wave began to peter out.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

Related Words

• abate
• die out
• ebb
• evaporate
• fade
• recede
• tail away
• tail off
• wane