burned out

Verb

burn out (third-person singular simple present burns out, present participle burning out, simple past and past participle burned out or (chiefly Commonwealth) burnt out)

1. (transitive) To destroy by fire.
   • All four engines and the entire train were derailed, and owing to the fact that all the vehicles except the sleeping cars were gas-lit, the whole of the coaching stock except the two rear brakes was burned out, beginning with the two front coaches, which were completely wrecked.1941 April, “The Why and the Wherefore: Hawes Junction Collision”, in Railway Magazine, page 191 (the collision occurred in 1910)
2. (intransitive) To become extinguished due to lack of fuel.
   • The candle finally burned out.
3. (intransitive) To become nonfunctional (especially of lightbulbs or similar light-producing devices).
4. (intransitive) To tire due to overwork; to overwork to one's limit.
   • After six months of twelve-hour workdays, most people just burn out and quit.
5. (transitive) To cause (someone) to tire due to overwork; to cause (someone) to overwork to one's limit.
6. (intransitive, slang, uncommon) To end one's shift at a job.
   • I start my shift at three in the afternoon, and get to burn out at midnight.

See all 10 meanings of burn out

Adjective

burnt out (comparative more burnt out, superlative most burnt out)

1. Completely damaged by fire or heat.
2. Overworked to the point of exhaustion.