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
Noun
This is hardly the first flameout for the conference. Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Mar. 2024 And a quick postseason flameout coming right before Siakam bolts in free agency would make this trade look like a disaster. Scott Horner, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Jan. 2024 The resurgence stands in contrast to the questions that have dogged the sector since last year's spectacular flameout of crypto exchange FTX, leading to the November conviction of founder Sam Bankman-Fried on seven counts of fraud. Elizabeth Napolitano, CBS News, 4 Dec. 2023 His record in the NCAA Tournament is merely 2-2, with a first-round flameout as the No. 2 seed. Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 7 Feb. 2024 Celebration of Sunday’s glorious 56-19 win over Miami was quickly forgotten as fans fretted about whether the first-round bye would lead to a repeat of the 2019 flameout at home vs. Tennessee. Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 4 Jan. 2024 Could electric air taxis and flying cars become another spectacular, multibillion-dollar aviation-industry flameout? Marc Wortman, Rolling Stone, 25 Dec. 2023 One of the original core shoegaze bands, Slowdive were the scene’s most famous flameout, derided by critics and dropped by their label just a week after the release of 1995’s Pygmalion. Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 14 Dec. 2023 His record on tech investing had taken a drubbing after SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund lost $32 billion in a year on flameouts like WeWork and DoorDash Inc. Ryan Gould, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2023
Verb
India flamed out in a thrashing to England and trudged off the Adelaide Oval in embarrassment apparently in desperate need of regeneration. Tristan Lavalette, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 Marijuana bills flame out Despite the opinions of regular Hoosiers, the multiple bipartisan bills on legalizing and decriminalizing recreational and medical marijuana in Indiana that lawmakers filed in 2024 are all dead, and highly unlikely to return in other bills. Brittany Carloni, The Indianapolis Star, 7 Feb. 2024 That came in 2021, when Arizona finished 11-6 but flamed out immediately during an embarrassing wild-card loss at the Rams. Bob McManaman, The Arizona Republic, 6 Jan. 2024 The Crown, Stranger Things, The Mandalorian, and especially Game of Thrones flourished for a while, then fizzled or flamed out. TIME, 7 Feb. 2024 Reformation’s age places it squarely in the 2010s direct-to-consumer generation of brands that grew quickly—some of which have since flamed out. Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 26 Jan. 2024 Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana is the new speaker of the House after every high- or even medium-profile candidate flamed out. The Editors, National Review, 26 Oct. 2023 Her first campaign for president in 2020 flamed out before the primaries and she’s been targeted relentlessly by conservatives, who have tried to cast her as a dangerous heir apparent if Biden drops out or falters during a second term. Taryn Luna, Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 2024 Kaliya Wilson is ready to give up on her movie-making aspirations when she is offered a job on hotshot director Danny Prescott’s next film, a gift of an opportunity even if Kaliya and Danny once shared a whirlwind romance that flamed out spectacularly. Ew Staff Published, EW.com, 20 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'flameout.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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 29 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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