- run out of steam
- Meaning
Run out of energy.OriginSteam engines gradually slow and then stop when the fire that powers the boiler is too low to produce steam.
Meaning and origin of phrases. 2013.
run out of steam
Look at other dictionaries:
run out of steam — (informal) To be forced to stop through loss of impetus, strength or energy • • • Main Entry: ↑steam * * * run out of/lose/steam phrase to lose energy, enthusiasm, or importance David seems to be running out of steam … Useful english dictionary
run out of steam — ► run out of steam informal lose impetus or enthusiasm. Main Entry: ↑steam … English terms dictionary
run out of steam — verb To run out of energy; to run out of motivation. After climbing six flights of stairs she found she had run out of steam and had to sit down … Wiktionary
run out of steam — British, informal, American & Australian, informal to suddenly lose the energy or interest to continue doing what you are doing. She d been talking for two hours and was just starting to run out of steam. I worked really well for two months of… … New idioms dictionary
run out of steam — (of a male) to be sexually impotent The imagery is of an engine which has exhausted its fuel: ... normal except they ve run out of steam and can t make it with a woman any more. (Hailey, 1979) … How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms
run out of steam — run out of power or energy, run out of fuel … English contemporary dictionary
run out of steam — If you say that a person, a process or an organized event is running out of steam, you mean that there is a loss if impetus, energy or enthusiasm. The anti immigrant movement seems to be running out of steam … English Idioms & idiomatic expressions
run out — 1) PHRASAL VERB If you run out of something, you have no more of it left. to run out of steam → see steam [V P of n] They have run out of ideas... [V P of n] We re running out of time... [V … English dictionary
run out of (or lose) steam — informal lose impetus or enthusiasm. → steam … English new terms dictionary
steam — ► NOUN 1) the hot vapour into which water is converted when heated, which condenses in the air into a mist of minute water droplets. 2) the expansive force of this vapour used as a source of power for machines. 3) momentum; impetus: the dispute… … English terms dictionary
