burn out
verb
burn out is spelled B-U-R-N-O-U-T: 7 letters. As a verb, burn out means “To destroy by fire” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in burn out?
| Letters | 7: B-U-R-N-O-U-T |
|---|---|
| In writing | a phrase: the frequency list counts single words |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you pronounce burn out?
- Australia
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-burn_out.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with burn out
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: burnout (one word or two).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of burn out
- burns out present, singular, he/she/it
- burning out participle, present
- burned out participle, past
- burnt out participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does burn out mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To destroy by fire.
- 2
To become extinguished due to lack of fuel.
The candle finally burned out.
- 3
To become nonfunctional (especially of lightbulbs or similar light-producing devices).
- 4
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
To cause (someone) to tire due to overwork; to cause (someone) to overwork to one's limit.
- 6
slangTo end one's shift at a job.
I start my shift at three in the afternoon, and get to burn out at midnight.
- 7
To have one's tires skid against the ground; to peel off, peel out.
- 8
To make (someone) unavailable for work involving exposure to ionizing radiation by employing (the person) in such work until the person's accumulated exposure reaches the maximum permitted for an administrative period, typically a year.
The repairs on this nuclear reactor have burned out every welder in the province.
noun
- 1
Alternative spelling of burnout.
in the parking lot doing burn-outs
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Burn out in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | apagar-se , fundir-se , ficar esgotado/exausto |
| French | s'épuiser |
| Spanish | patinar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does burn out come from?
Deverbal from burn out.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).