peter out

Idioms  

1. Dwindle or diminish and come to an end, as in Their enthusiasm soon petered out. The origin of this usage is unknown, but one authority suggests it may refer to the apostle Peter, whose enthusiastic support of Jesus quickly diminished so that he denied knowing him three times during the night after Jesus's arrest. [Mid-1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

peter out

There’s little reason to expect it to peter out, especially with layoffs and unemployment very low.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026

More of those smart gags would have been welcome, but they peter out after half an hour or so.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

Those reports are starting to peter out now, but they could still move markets.

From Barron's ● May 11, 2026

While most experts are predicting this hantavirus outbreak will peter out, it’s not the kind of prediction you want to be wrong about either.

From Salon ● May 11, 2026

On the fifth block, I can tell that we’ve reached the point where the wave began to peter out.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

Related Words

• abate
• die out
• ebb
• evaporate
• fade
• recede
• tail away
• tail off
• wane