flameout

1 of 2

noun

flame·​out ˈflām-ˌau̇t How to pronounce flameout (audio)
1
: the unintentional cessation of operation of a jet airplane engine
2
: a sudden downfall, failure, or cessation
3
: a person whose successful career ends abruptly

flame out

2 of 2

verb

flamed out; flaming out; flames out

intransitive verb

: to fail spectacularly and especially prematurely

Examples of flameout in a Sentence

Noun Fans were disappointed by the team's flameout in the play-offs. before her sudden, self-inflicted flameout, she was one of the state's brightest political stars Verb even at the reception, some were predicting that the marriage would flame out before the fancy china ever got used
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
But for every Nvidia or Facebook, there are many more flameouts. Jon Fortt,paige Tortorelli, CNBC, 7 Jan. 2025 Nadeau scored two goals in the tournament — including the dramatic equalizer with under five minutes left, which was overshadowed by Czechia’s game-winner — but it was widely felt that he and several teammates were misused during Canada’s crushing flameout. Cory Lavalette, The Athletic, 4 Jan. 2025
Verb
Others compared this Vikings season to the 2022 campaign in which the Vikings flamed out in the wild-card round, even though that Vikings team did not have a budding superstar in Jordan Addison or Brian Flores working wonders as the defensive coordinator. Alec Lewis, The Athletic, 29 Dec. 2024 Like many other politicians who once opposed Trump, DeSantis crawled to Mar-a-Lago on hands and knees to beg forgiveness after flaming out against Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries. Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, Orlando Sentinel, 20 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for flameout 

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1950, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1951, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of flameout was in 1950

Dictionary Entries Near flameout

Cite this Entry

“Flameout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flameout. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!