fizzle
Americanverb (used without object)
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fizzles,
present (3rd person singular)
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fizzled,
past participle, past
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fizzling
present participle
noun
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a fizzling, hissing, or sputtering.
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Informal. a failure; fiasco.
verb
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to make a hissing or bubbling sound
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informal (often foll by out) to fail or die out, esp after a promising start
noun
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a hissing or bubbling sound; fizz
-
informal an outright failure; fiasco
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fizzlesimple
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fizzlessimple
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have fizzledperfect
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has fizzledperfect
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am fizzlingprogressive
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are fizzlingprogressive
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is fizzlingprogressive
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have been fizzlingperfect progressive
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has been fizzlingperfect progressive
Past
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fizzledsimple
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had fizzledperfect
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was fizzlingprogressive
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were fizzlingprogressive
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had been fizzlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fizzle
1525–35; earlier fysel to break wind, frequentative of *fise < Old Norse fīsa to break wind; akin to feist
Explanation
When something fizzles, it ends in a slow, sad way. Your bake sale may get off to a great start, only to fizzle once you've sold all the brownies and are left with nothing but oatmeal raisin cookies. The word fizzle has two uses — first, for talking about a failure or disappointment. Your party is a fizzle if no one shows up, and your cheerfulness is bound to fizzle after an experience like that. The second meaning is a hissing or sputtering sound, just like the word itself sounds — like the fizzle of a backyard firework or the fizzle of static on the radio as you switch stations.
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.
See Examples For:
While several industry experts told MarketWatch that controversies over advertisements tend to fizzle out in the medium term, there’s always a chance that damage to its brand could linger.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
But those businesses are nascent and could just as easily fizzle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
"When that happens, triplets easily fizzle out before they ever meet. Molecules must be close enough for energy to transfer but separated enough to prevent quenching of excitons."
From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026
It was such disappointment for a fiercely loyal set of fans to watch this season fizzle away to relegation.
From BBC ● May 25, 2026
The power might fizzle when the wind blew hard and leave them all in darkness.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
Researchers believe the shock "fizzles" after reaching the outer boundary of a bubble created by gas that the doomed star had previously expelled.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
The Air Jordan 1 is just a sneaker if Michael Jordan’s career fizzles out his rookie season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
If the AI boom fizzles or the energy consumption of data centers wanes, they worry residents could be left paying off the infrastructure upgrades years from now.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
A star quarterback fizzles, a new hire doesn’t work out—and so it’s back to the basics.
From Barron's ● Dec. 12, 2025
So the school year fizzles to an end, and I wait.
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
But the American dream of winning the tournament for the first time fizzled out in shambolic fashion in the early hours of Tuesday morning with a hugely disappointing defeat by Belgium.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
What started off as a trailblazing music partnership between música mexicana band Fuerza Regida and L.A. label Rancho Humilde has now fizzled into a sticky online drama.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
That rally fizzled out soon after Apple announced it would have to jack up prices on MacBooks and iPads to offset the rising price for memory chips.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
That fizzled in the midst of a standoff between then-U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
My anger fizzled slightly as I watched Elliot open his eyes wide and jerk his head toward the far exit and then back to me.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Hopes for a deal run high before fizzling, so markets have been reluctant to discount longer-lasting disruptions, Morgan Stanley analysts said.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026
That’s the funky mood in Boston, where the Red Sox are once again sideways and fizzling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026
Briefly, Bailey Zappe, one of his backups, stirred up optimism before fizzling out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
Recent fears about the AI trade fizzling had led investors to rotate out of recent winners and into some more defensive sectors — though not all.
From Barron's ● Nov. 19, 2025
The whole thing again fizzling around us both, around our closeness, like a just-lit sparkler, and I didn’t know what to say back.
From "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" by emily m. danforth
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.
