conk out

verb

1. (of machines, cars, etc) to fail suddenly

2. to tire suddenly or collapse, as from exhaustion

Word History and Origins

Origin of conk out¹

C20: of uncertain origin

Idioms and Phrases

Stop functioning, fail, as in The engine finally conked out . [ Colloquial ; early 1900s]

Fall asleep, as in Every evening he conked out in front of the television set . [1940s]

Faint or collapse, as in I don't know if it was the heat, but she suddenly conked out . [1920s]

Die, as in He's paranoid about conking out and he's only twenty! [Late 1920s]

Example Sentences

"Having to go out in the dark every time the generator conked out."

Read more on BBC

The food van that conked out at Del Rosario’s house was from Revolution Foods, one of the vendors in the city’s delivery program.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But my pacemaker battery was running low, and what if it conked out in the middle of an extraction?

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I had to replace an air conditioner motor that just couldn’t keep up and conked out.

Read more on Scientific American

It wasn’t until a week later that Shute realized how seriously her cognitive function had declined after her AC conked out.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• break 
• cave in 
• crumple 
• disintegrate 
• drop 
• fail 
• faint 
• fall down 
• founder 
• give way 
• shatter 
• topple 
• weaken