burn out

British  

verb

1. to become or cause to become worn out or inoperative as a result of heat or friction

   the clutch burnt out

2. (intr) (of a rocket, jet engine, etc) to cease functioning as a result of exhaustion of the fuel supply

3. (tr; usually passive) to destroy by fire

4. to become or cause to become exhausted through overwork or dissipation

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noun

1. the failure of a mechanical device from excessive heating

2. a total loss of energy and interest and an inability to function effectively, experienced as a result of excessive demands upon one's resources or chronic overwork

burn out Idioms  

1. Stop functioning because something, such as fuel, has been used up. For example, There's nothing wrong with the lamp; the light bulb just burned out . [Late 1300s]

2. be burned out . Lose one's home, place of work, or school as the result of a fire. For example, Hundreds of tenants are burned out every year because of negligent landlords .

3. Also, burn oneself out . Make or become exhausted or disaffected, especially with one's work or schooling. For example, Many young lawyers burn themselves out after a few years of 70-hour weeks . This metaphoric term alludes to a fire going out for lack of new fuel. Robert Southey used it in an 1816 essay: “The spirit of Jacobinism was burnt out in France.” [1970s]

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Example Sentences

Every spring, caterpillars infested the fruit trees at their property’s edge, and every July the children watched from the porch as their father used a torch to burn out the larvae.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

“Otherwise, you’ll burn out and abandon it altogether.”

From MarketWatch • Mar. 27, 2026

For Bowers, DeMarr’s story echoes the cautionary tales he grew up with of “forgotten about” people, who, despite their talents, burn out or see their careers fizzle for different reasons.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 2, 2026

These are areas where the level of danger means the local fire service is usually not allowed access and the fire is left to burn out on its own, albeit contained by firebreaks.

From BBC • Aug. 29, 2025

It had burned brightly for millions of years and would soon become a supernova and burn out.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls