run out of steam
Related to run out of steam: pick up steam, without a hitch
run out of steam
To lose one's energy, motivation, or enthusiasm to continue doing something. After spending hours working on this project, I'm running out of steam—can we take a break?
See also: of, out, run, steam
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
run out of steam
Fig. to lose momentum and fail. Toward the end of the lecture, he seemed to run out of steam, leaving us with no summary or conclusion.
See also: of, out, run, steam
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
run out of steam
1. If a process or activity runs out of steam, it becomes weaker, slower, or less active, and often stops completely. Note: The following expressions refer to the use of steam to provide power for a machine, especially a steam engine. The promised economic recovery seems to have run out of steam. The campaign had finally run out of steam.
2. If you run out of steam, you lose energy or enthusiasm for something. Note: The following expressions refer to the use of steam to provide power for a machine, especially a steam engine. I was working well earlier but I seem to have run out of steam now.
See also: of, out, run, steam
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
run out of (or lose) steam
lose impetus or enthusiasm. informal 1992 Jeff Torrington Swing Hammer Swing! Eventually I ran out of steam and came to a halt.
See also: of, out, run, steam
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
run out of ˈsteam
(informal) lose the energy, enthusiasm, etc. that you had before: His presidential campaign began well but ran out of steam after a couple of months.See also: of, out, run, steam
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
run out of steam, to
To become weary; to exhaust one’s energy. Although steam engines were a nineteenth-century invention, this term comes from the mid-twentieth century. Dick Francis used it in Slayride (1973): “When I’d run out of steam, they would begin to nod.”
See also: of, out, run
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- run out of steam, to
- out of steam
- know where (one) is coming from
- know where one is coming from
- know where someone is coming from
- pour on coal
- pour on the coal
- where (one) is coming from
- where somebody is coming from
- where someone is coming from