flame·out
ˈflām-ˌau̇t 
1
: the unintentional cessation of operation of a jet airplane engine
2
: a sudden downfall, failure, or cessation
a flameout that cost the network millions
3
: a person whose successful career ends abruptly
He was a spectacular failure …, a flameout.—
Douglas S. Looney and Carlton Stowers
Douglas S. Looney and Carlton Stowers
flamed out; flaming out; flames out
: to fail spectacularly and especially prematurely
a promising career that flamed out
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
Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2025
Despite owning baseball’s best record during the regular season, skeptics remain for Milwaukee thanks to a string of recent postseason flameouts.
—Scott Phillips, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
Our dream of going back to the moon and onto Mars and more distant worlds—not least to ensure our species’ survival before the sun flames out and engulfs most of the solar system—can be seen as just one more step in evolution’s long march.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flameout
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
To be clear, the flameout of Tron isn’t Leto’s burden alone.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2025
Despite owning baseball’s best record during the regular season, skeptics remain for Milwaukee thanks to a string of recent postseason flameouts.
—Scott Phillips, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
Verb
After the first two films, the series switched hands to seasoned parody veterans David Zucker and Pat Proft before flaming out with the fifth entry in 2013.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
Our dream of going back to the moon and onto Mars and more distant worlds—not least to ensure our species’ survival before the sun flames out and engulfs most of the solar system—can be seen as just one more step in evolution’s long march.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flameout
Cite this Entry
“Flameout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flameout. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share