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Glite Dictionary
✈️ Engine failure 💥 Sudden failure
flame-out

flame-out

1 8.3
A jet engine suddenly stops burning fuel and loses power
  • noun
  • /fleɪm aʊt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : apagón
  • During the test flight, the engineers monitored for any signs of a flame-out in the jet engine.

Examples

  • The pilot safely landed the aircraft after experiencing a flame-out due to fuel supply issues.

  • You know, what if I get a flame out over the Sinai desert, You know, what if my guns don't fire, What if I'm attacked from out of the sun, whatever.

  • We've got a flame-out.

    Top Gun (1986)

  • When his F-111 had a flame-out over Atlanta, Georgia... rather than bail out and risk the lives of a lot of people, he rode the plane down.

    Assassination (1987)

  • The mechanic explained that a flame-out could cause the engine to lose power unexpectedly.

Synonyms

engine failure
vsflame-out
7 3.7

A situation in which an engine stops working or does not work properly

is a specific sudden power loss caused by fuel cutoff or bad combustion
misfire
vsflame-out
  • Specialized
1 6.8

A gun or engine that fails to fire when it should

is a total power loss due to interrupted fuel supply or faulty combustion

Antonyms

to function
441 2.6

To work in a particular role or job

to ignite
66 4.0

To make something start burning

Surface Forms

flame-out singular
flame-outs plural

Morphology

flame-out = flame + out (transparent) = flame + out

The literal combination 'flame' + 'out' directly describes extinguishing of combustion in an engine, so learners can infer engine failure from the components.

Etymology

Flame-out is simply flame + out, like a candle's flame 'going out'. In a jet engine a flame-out is when the burning stops and the engine loses power, so a flame-out is the flame being put out and the engine failing.