burned-out
Americanadjective
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rendered unserviceable or ineffectual by maximum use; consumed.
Check your outdoor lights and replace any burned-out bulbs.
-
exhausted or made listless through overwork, stress, or intemperance.
-
deprived of one's regular place to live, work, etc., by a destructive fire.
Etymology
Origin of burned-out
First recorded in 1805–15
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.
Footage analysed by BBC Verify and online by GeoConfirmed open source analysts shows burned-out shells of container lorries and other military vehicles at multiple locations along a key route through southern Ukraine.
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
Raman announced her plans amid burned-out lots north of Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
Haney said it’s also timely in the aftermath of the Palisades and Eaton fires, since data show that investors are flooding the market for burned-out lots, replacing longtime locals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2026
Snow-covered roads are littered with burned-out pickup trucks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026
In the summer of 1945, as Europeans picked through the rubble of their ruined cities and burned-out farms, Soviet and American soldiers eyed each other warily.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
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.
