burn out

burn (itself) out 

1. [for a flame or fire] to run out of fuel and go out. Finally, the fires burned themselves out. The fire finally burned out.

2. [for an electrical or mechanical part] to fail and cease working. The motor finally burned itself out. The light bulb burned out.

See also: burn, out

burn (oneself) out

Fig. to do something so long and so intensely that one gets sick and tired of doing it. I burned myself out as a competitive swimmer. I just cannot stand to practice anymore. Tom burned himself out in that boring job.

See also: burn, out

burn someone out

Fig. to wear someone out; to make someone ineffective through overuse. (See also use someone up.) Facing all these problems at once will burn Tom out. The continuous problems burned out the office staff in a few months.

See also: burn, out

burn something out 

1. to burn away the inside of something, getting rid of excess deposits. The mechanic burned the carbon out of the manifold. He burned out all of the carbon deposits.

2. to wear out an electrical or electronic device through overuse. Turn it off. You're going to burn the motor out! He burned out the motor.

See also: burn, out

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burn out (somebody) also burn somebody out

to stop being effective because of too much work or stress Most of these people will burn out within 10 years and be replaced by younger employees who don't mind working nights, weekends, and holidays. This work burns me out so much that by the end of the day I can't even decide what I want to eat for dinner.

See also: burn, out

burn out (something) also burn something out

to stop working because of damage The new motor burned out because they used the wrong type of oil.

Usage notes: usually said about a motor or engine

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of burn out (to stop producing a flame)

See also: burn, out