burnout

noun burn·out \ ˈbərn-ˌau̇t \

|Updated on: 18 Aug 2018

Examples: burnout in a Sentence

Definition of burnout

1 : the cessation of operation usually of a jet or rocket engine; also : the point at which burnout occurs

2 a : exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration

b : a person suffering from burnout

3 : a person showing the effects of drug abuse

See burnout defined for English-language learners

See burnout defined for kids

Examples of burnout in a Sentence

Teaching can be very stressful, and many teachers eventually suffer burnout.
the burnout rate among teachers
a novel about academic burnouts

Recent Examples of burnout from the Web

Another factor leading to burnout is the type of insurance coverage that patients have.

— mckenna moore, Fortune, "These Cities Are Most Likely To Face an OB-GYN Shortage By 2020," 27 June 2018
Pastrana then did some burnouts to celebrate the feat.

— jace evans, USA TODAY, "Travis Pastrana nails 3 iconic Evel Knievel stunts in tribute show in Las Vegas," 8 July 2018
Billboard spoke with Tedder after his presentation about the importance of licensing, surviving burnout, his new NBC fall series and schooling Bono.

— melinda newman, Billboard, "Ryan Tedder on OneRepublic's 'Connection' With Jeep, Playing Corporate Gigs & Why He Related to Anthony Bourdain," 2 July 2018
Photo: Sasha Maslov for the Wall Street Journal Jonathan Ripp, a Mount Sinai internist, became chief wellness officer a couple of months ago, and says that stress and burnout affect senior physicians as well as residents and medical students.

— lucette lagnado, WSJ, "Hospitals Address Widespread Doctor Burnout," 9 June 2018
Part of what leads people to burnout is continual frustration and disappointment, and feeling a lack of control in their work.

— ellevate, chicagotribune.com, "5 easy things you can do to be a better manager," 11 May 2018
That was driven home at the Aspen Ideas Festival, where two of us (E.M. and N.N.) were honored to be part of a panel discussing the growing epidemic of clinician burnout in the United States.

— nicolas nguyen, STAT, "‘Benign sexism’ intrudes at a meeting of the world’s brightest minds," 3 July 2018
As a pediatric nurse practitioner, she’s been following research showing that focusing on just one sport from an early age can lead to overuse injuries and burnout in young children.

— hilary potkewitz, WSJ, "USA Swimming Flips for Multisport Youth Athletes," 2 July 2018
Lauren Allswede, who left MSU in 2015, said the counseling center also dealt with staffing shortages, funding problems and burnout among counselors, who were expected to be on call around the clock.

— david jesse, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan State lawsuit sounds familiar to sexual assault survivors," 12 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'burnout.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of burnout

1940

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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burnout Synonyms

burn out

verb

Definition of burn out

transitive verb

1 : to drive out or destroy the property of by fire

2 : to cause to fail, wear out, or become exhausted especially from overwork or overuse

intransitive verb

: to suffer burnout

See burn out defined for kids

Examples of burn out in a Sentence

working 12-hour days at that job just burned me out

Recent Examples of burn out from the Web

One 2009 study found that immigration judges, especially female judges, are more burned out than doctors and prison wardens.

— henry gass, The Christian Science Monitor, "With 'zero tolerance,' new strain on already struggling immigration courts," 9 July 2018
The medical profession is waking up to the fact that too many doctors are burned out in their jobs with plenty of public handwringing.

— timothy j. hoff, STAT, "Medical training programs need to care about physician burnout. Should the rest of us?," 21 June 2018
In talking about the heavy workload assumed by officers in Cleveland's dangerous 4th District, Follmer said officers are burned out from being forced to constantly work 15- to 16-hour days.

— phillip morris, cleveland.com, "America's police shouldn't only be acknowledged in the month of May: Phillip Morris," 10 Apr. 2018
More than half of American doctors are burned out, a new national survey suggests, and those doctors are more likely to make medical mistakes.

— alan mozes, CBS News, "Doctor burnout behind many medical errors, study finds," 10 July 2018
The up-and-down existence of the reliever — warm up one half inning, then sit again — can burn out arms.

— ray glier, USA TODAY, "Ups and downs of minor league bullpens," 5 July 2018
The helicopter, the pilot of which was later released, was found burned out north of Paris, as was a getaway car.

— reuters, Washington Post, "An infamous French gangster is on the run after escaping prison in a helicopter," 1 July 2018
JeriLyn Stone Music, 2007, Killian High JeriLyn Stone was stressed, burning out from her high-stress job as a media company vice president in New York.

— colleen wright, miamiherald, "Behind every Silver Knight winner, there is an adviser pushing them to the finish | Miami Herald," 17 May 2018
So unlike the red dwarfs burning today, none of which have ever burned out, these Population III stars lived fast and died young.

— sophie weiner, Popular Mechanics, "What Happened to the Universe's Earliest Stars?," 3 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'burn out.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of burn out

1710

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

burn out Synonyms

Synonyms

break, bust, do in, do up, drain, exhaust, fatigue, frazzle, harass, kill, knock out, outwear, tire, tucker (out), wash out, wear, wear out, weary;

Near Antonyms

activate, energize, invigorate, rejuvenate, strengthen, vitalize;

relax, rest, unwind;

Phrases

wear to a frazzle;

BURNOUT Defined for English Language Learners

burnout

noun

Definition of burnout for English Language Learners

: the condition of someone who has become very physically and emotionally tired after doing a difficult job for a long time
: a person who suffers burnout
: the time when a jet or rocket engine stops working because there is no more fuel available