peter out — fade to nothing / gradually come to an end
phrasal verbC1IELTS 7+neutraloccasional
to gradually become weaker, smaller, or less active until it disappears or stops completely, often after starting strongly
Say it like a native
Textbook The initiative gradually diminished until it ceased entirely.
Native The whole thing just petered out.
'Peter out' compactly means fade to nothing; the formal paraphrase is heavy.
Pattern: peter out (no object); peter out + prep phrase
In use
- The excitement around the new app quickly petered out after a few weeks.daily life
- While initial interest in the recycling programme was high, participation gradually petered out as people lost motivation.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ The conversation petered down.
✓ The conversation petered out.
The phrase is 'peter OUT', never 'peter down'.
Common collocations
peter out + subject— the conversation, the trail, interest, the rain
Don't confuse it
'Peter out' is different from 'run out' (which means to use up all of something) and 'give up' (which means to stop trying). 'Peter out' focuses on a gradual fading or loss of strength until nothing remains.