run out of steam

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run out of steam (third-person singular simple present runs out of steam, present participle running out of steam, simple past ran out of steam, past participle run out of steam)

1. (idiomatic) To run out of energy or motivation.

   After climbing six flights of stairs she found she had run out of steam and had to sit down.

   After two of the team left, the project rather ran out of steam.

• run on empty