peter out

verb

petered out; petering out; peters out
Synonyms of peter outnext
informal
: to gradually become smaller, weaker, or less before stopping or ending
Their romantic relationship petered out after the summer.
Interest in the sport is beginning to peter out.

Examples of peter out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
People, having grown too used to these warnings and then seeing storms peter out, refuse to move. — Kansas City Star, 22 May 2026 So many of them hook you in and are interesting, and then start treading water and peter out. — Ronda Racha Penrice, HollywoodReporter, 12 Nov. 2025 Then, eventually that’ll peter out. — Tim Grierson, Rolling Stone, 16 Feb. 2026 What’s far less clear is how much the VIX actually needs to rise before volatility begins to peter out. — Frank Cappelleri, CNBC, 1 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for peter out

Rhymes for peter out

See All Rhymes for peter out

Browse Nearby Words

peterman
peter out
Peter Pan
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Peter out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peter%20out. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All