burnout
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.
Origin of burnout
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use burnout in a sentence
But will voters burn out on him before the crucial caucus vote?
Ted Cruz’s Aggressive Campaigning Could Hurt Him With Crucial Iowa Voters | Ben Jacobs | November 25, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTWill Glee, self-made savior of the music industry and glee clubs everywhere, burn out like a one-hit wonder?
Venus and Serena Williams look as if they will never burn out.
The engine did not answer very well, for the packing in the pole stuffing box used to burn out, and a cloud of steam escaped.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2) | Francis TrevithickShe bade him guard well his ring, and gave him a torch: if that torch were lighted his life would burn out with the last spark.
The Science of Fairy Tales | Edwin Sidney Hartland
To this end she buried him in fire by night to burn out his human elements, and anointed him with ambrosia by day.
The Science of Fairy Tales | Edwin Sidney HartlandAt length they attempted to set the thicket on fire, hoping thus to burn out their foes.
Christopher Carson | John S. C. AbbottA short circuited coil will heat excessively and eventually burn out.
Oxy-Acetylene Welding and Cutting | Harold P. Manly
British Dictionary definitions for burn out
to become or cause to become worn out or inoperative as a result of heat or friction: the clutch burnt out
(intr) (of a rocket, jet engine, etc) to cease functioning as a result of exhaustion of the fuel supply
(tr; usually passive) to destroy by fire
to become or cause to become exhausted through overwork or dissipation
the failure of a mechanical device from excessive heating
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
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with burnout
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]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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