burn out

To become completely exhausted and lose all energy or motivation, usually because of working too hard or being under too much stress for a long time. When someone burns out, they often feel unable to continue doing their job effectively.

Type

Inseparable phrasal verb.

Notes

When 'burn out' is used as an intransitive phrasal verb — meaning a person becomes exhausted — it is inseparable: no object comes between the two parts. You say 'She burned out after months of overwork,' never 'She burned herself out' in this intransitive sense. Note, however, that the related transitive form (where something exhausts another person, as in 'The job burned him out') does allow an object, but the most common self-directed use remains inseparable.

Conjugation

Narrative

Priya had been a software developer at the same fintech startup for three years. In the final push before the product launch, she was ro sending emails at midnight and skipping lunch to fix bugs. One Tuesday morning, she sat at her desk, op her laptop, and simply could not type a single line of code. Her manager no she'd gone quiet and asked her into a one-on-one. 'I think I'm bu ,' Priya admitted, her voice st but tired. Her manager closed his notebook. 'Then we fix the workload, not you,' he said, a they b a real schedule together that afternoon. S , the exhaustion, once named, finally had somewhere to go. Ev , it took weeks to feel normal again.

Register

Neutral

In the early 1940s, the British mathematician and codebreaker Alan Turing was at the center of one of history's most consequential intellectual efforts — breaking Nazi Germany's Enigma cipher at Bletchley Park. Turing worked at a pace that was extraordinary even among his brilliant peers, often going days with little sleep, ob over logical problems that others had abandoned. By 1942 and into 1943, colleagues noted that he had become increasingly wi , cycling compulsively between his billet and the hut, eating erratically, and struggling to engage with the institutional politics that were consuming Bletchley. He eventually stack from direct operational codebreaking leadership and moved toward more theoretical work on computing. Historians have noted that the sheer gr intensity of the war years — the stakes, the secrecy, the re pressure — took a measurable toll on e his extraordinary capacity. S , the documented shift in Turing's role and demeanor during this period is one of history's clearest examples of what happens when sustained, high-pressure intellectual work is carried beyond what any person can maintain: in , even the most brilliant minds can bu .

To bounce back means to recover quickly and successfully after something bad happens, such as a failure, illness, or disappointment. It suggests returning to a normal or even stronger state after a difficult period.

Type

Inseparable phrasal verb.

Notes

"Bounce back" is an inseparable phrasal verb, meaning the two parts cannot be split by placing an object between them. Because it is intransitive, there is no direct object to insert — you say "She bounced back quickly" and never "She bounced quickly back from it" as a structural rule. The adverb or prepositional phrase always follows the complete unit: "He bounced back from the injury," not "He bounced the injury back."

Conjugation

Narrative

Priya had spent eighteen months building her catering business when a kitchen fire destroyed her equipment two weeks before her biggest booking. She nearly cancelled everything. In , she ca her supplier, ne a short-term loan, borrowed two ovens from a neighbor, and delivered the wedding dinner on time. Sitting in her car afterward, ex and smelling of someone else's kitchen, she laughed at herself. Her sister texted: "You actually pulled it off." Priya had not just survived the su crisis — she had boack with a story she would tell clients for years. S , the fire, it turned out, became her best advertisement. Ev , she bought a fire extinguisher the very next week.

Register

Neutral

In 1914, Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition ended before it truly began when his ship, the Endurance, became tr in pack ice in the Weddell Sea. By November 1915, the ice had crushed the hull and the ship sank, stranding twenty-seven men on the frozen surface with no communication equipment and no rescue plan. Shackleton made a decision that de logic: he led a six-man crew in a modified lifeboat, the James Caird, across 800 miles of the Southern Ocean — one of the most da stretches of water on earth — to reach South Georgia Island in May 1916. Fr , he organized a rescue of every single man left on Elephant Island. Not one life was lost. Shackleton had lost his ship, his mission, and two years of his life, y he tu catastrophic failure into one of the most ce survival stories in polar history. In , his response to complete disaster — methodical, calm, focused on the next possible action — is a vivid real-world illustration of what it means to boack when circumstances could not have been worse.

To increase gradually or develop something stronger over a period of time. It can refer to physical things, skills, confidence, pressure, or relationships that grow little by little.

Type

Separable phrasal verb.

Notes

When 'build up' is used with a noun object, the noun can appear either between the two parts or after 'up': 'She built up her confidence' and 'She built her confidence up' are both correct. However, when the object is a pronoun, it must go between the verb and the particle: say 'She built it up,' never 'She built up it.'

Conjugation

Narrative

Marco had always been te of public speaking. In January, he signed up for a local toastmasters club, not to give speeches, but just to watch. By February, he was introducing himself. By April, he was delivering two-minute talks. His mentor, Dana, re him every week that there were no shortcuts — each s session was building up a layer of confidence he hadn't had before. By June, Marco stood in front of forty strangers and s for eight minutes without notes. S , he wasn't cured of fear, b he had bu enough courage to face it. Ev , his hands still shook a little.

Register

Informal

In 1934, a twenty-five-year-old Soichiro Honda was working as a mechanic in Hamamatsu, Japan, repairing cars and racing them on weekends. He had no university degree and almost no capital. Rahan launch a company immediately, he spent years studying engineering part-time at Hamamatsu Technical High School while running his repair shop. He exted with piston ring manufacturing in his own backyard, failing repeatedly — Toyota rejected his first prototypes as un . In quitting, Honda re his process, invested back into the workshop, and gradually won a supply contract with Toyota in 1941. After the war, in 1948, he founded Honda Motor Co. with that ha technical knowledge and a reputation earned one small improvement at a time. His story is a pr illustration of what bu means in practice: not a single breakthrough, b a deliberate, patient accumulation of skill, credibility, and resources over more than a decade before the world took notice.

To continue doing something without stopping, especially after a problem, interruption, or setback. It suggests persistence and the determination to keep going despite difficulties.

Type

Inseparable phrasal verb.

Notes

"Carry on" is an inseparable phrasal verb, meaning the verb and particle cannot be split by an object. You must say "carry on with the journey," never "carry the journey on." When a pronoun or noun follows, it is introduced with the preposition "with": for example, "She carried on with her work" rather than placing the object between the two words.

Conjugation

Narrative

Marco had been cycling across Spain for eleven days when his rear derailleur snapped outside a small village near Burgos. He pushed his bike to a roadside café, or a coffee, and sat staring at the map. A local mechanic patched it together with a spare part that wasn't quite right — the gears skipped on every hill. Marco knew the fix wouldn't last. B Santiago de Compostela was only four days away. He tightened his w helmet, paid for the coffee, and decided to ca , taking the s hills slowly, st on the pedals where he had to. Ev , he never once considered turning back.

Register

Neutral

In August 1914, Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition set sail from London aboard the Endurance. By January 1915, the ship was tr in pack ice in the Weddell Sea. For ten months the crew drifted, locked in ice, watching the ship slowly being crushed. When the Endurance finally sank in November 1915, Shackleton and his twenty-seven men were stranded on the ice with three lifeboats and dwindling supplies. Rahan surrender to despair, Shackleton organized daily routines, maintained morale, and led the men on a ha 800-mile open-sea voyage to South Georgia Island — na by sextant, enduring hurce winds — to reach a whaling station and summon rescue. Every si crew member survived. What made the difference was Shackleton's refusal to stop: when each plan failed, he fo a new one. S , the expedition became one of history's most extraordinary examples of what it means to ca in the face of total, sustained catastrophe.