fizzle
Americanverb (used without object)
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:
"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
When the relationships fizzle, when the job sucks, when things don’t work out the way you plan, you know they’re always there for you.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
Despite years of work, there is no word on whether a viable vaccine is any closer to reality, causing the gains to fizzle some.
From Barron's ● May 13, 2026
A lot of young sporting prodigies tend to fizzle out, but - despite a slow start to the Premier League season - Littler appears to be going from strength to strength.
From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026
I spun around and stumbled toward the door, but despite my will it felt as though everything of Finn from the knees down had already begun to fizzle away.
From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith
The show, which premiered on Broadway in 1947, was Lerner and Loewe’s first hit after a string of flops and fizzles.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
If the AI boom fizzles, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Nebius transform again, adapting to cater to whatever computing demand shifts into.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
And then, of course, there’s the risk the AI bubble fizzles and utilities are left with too much capacity.
From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026
"But if it fizzles out, then it emboldens politicians to do what they want," he noted.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2025
I see the light of one of Ama’s Adinkra symbols, but it quickly fizzles out when she trips on one of the vines.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Most often these are industrial accidents, some process going awry, whether by fizzled technology or human error.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
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
That fizzled in the midst of a standoff between then-U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
However, as negotiations between the U.S. and Iran fizzled, they rose again.
From MarketWatch ● May 15, 2026
The streetlight fizzled into darkness and then flared back to life and then fizzled again...darkness; light; darkness; light.
From "Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures" by Kate DiCamillo
On the stunning ballad Good Reason, she struggles with the idea of a relationship fizzling out, with no major disagreements, just the gut feeling it's not working.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
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
The rebound in software stocks appeared to be fizzling out as Wall Street pivoted back toward the chip and server makers that have helped power the market to all-time highs in recent months.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 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
The idea was in danger of fizzling before it could explode.
From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez
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.
