flameout
flameout Lexical Profile
flameout Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A sudden, spectacular, or complete failure, collapse, or exhaustion, especially after a period of rapid success or intense effort.
"The heavily funded startup experienced a public flameout within a year due to reckless spending and poor management."
The sudden failure of a jet engine or gas turbine caused by the accidental extinguishing of the flame in its combustion chamber.
"The pilot successfully restarted the turbine after heavy rain and turbulence caused a temporary engine flameout at high altitude."
Word Nuance & Usage
The noun is written as a single solid word ('flameout') or occasionally hyphenated ('flame-out'), whereas the corresponding phrasal verb is always written as two separate words ('flame out').
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the late 1940s during the early era of jet aviation as a compound of 'flame' and 'out', before developing its figurative sense of a sudden, dramatic failure by the 1970s.