flame out
"flame-out" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“flame out” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To become suddenly angry; to break out into indignation or similar emotion; to flare up.
Corpus desk
Index EN-flame-out · flame out · English
flame out · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "F" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | flame out |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “flame out” in English
Rare enough to double-check
flame out is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
flame out doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: flame + out The correct English form is flame out, spelled F-L-A-M-E- -O-U-T.
Definition
- 1To become suddenly angry; to break out into indignation or similar emotion; to flare up.
- 2To fail due to extinction of flame.
- 3To fail, usually spectacularly.
- 4To stop due to exhaustion.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how flame out appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
[O]n being brought home, and giving us ground to suppose he was much worse hurt than he really was, and a fever ensuing, every one flamed out; and all was laid at my door.
If on flame out, steam pressure goes below 75# you must go back on gas to return [....] The grievant replied that If he did so, the boiler would flame out.
Etymology
flame + out
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.