1
general::
1. Stop functioning because something, such as fuel, has been used up. For example, There's nothing wrong with the lamp; the light bulb just burned out. [Late 1300s] 2. be burned out. Lose one's home, place of work, or school as the result of a fire. For example, Hundreds of tenants are burned out every year because of negligent landlords. 3. Also, burn oneself out. Make or become exhausted or disaffected, especially with one's work or schooling. For example, Many young lawyers burn themselves out after a few years of 70-hour weeks. This metaphoric term alludes to a fire going out for lack of new fuel. Robert Southey used it in an 1816 essay: "The spirit of Jacobinism was burnt out in France." [1970s]
American Heritage Idioms
2
general::
Phrase(s): 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., Phrase(s): 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., Phrase(s): 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., Phrase(s): burn (oneself) out
Fig. to do something so long and so intensely that one gets sick and tired of doing it. (See also burn someone out.) • I burned myself out as a competitive swimmer. I just cannot stand to practice anymore. • Tom burned himself out in that boring job.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs