Definitions

burn the candle at both ends

VERB

do too much

Synonyms

WEAK

bite off more than one can chew go to extremes go too far keep one's nose to the grindstone overdo overextend oneself slave spread oneself too thin stay on the treadmill take on too much

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I have girlfriends who may not be making as much money as their spouses, or vice versa, and everybody is out there hustling and grinding it out and burning the candle at both ends.

From Los Angeles Times

Murray adds that he didn’t know how to say “no” in a healthy way and that he was burning the candle at both ends.

From Los Angeles Times

“The time has come for me to face the dangers of burning the candle at both ends,” Mr. Nugent wrote in a resignation letter he shared on social media.

From Washington Times

One thinks of what a journalist wrote about another hard-living star: “Keith Richards doesn’t so much burn the candle at both ends as apply a blow torch to the middle.”

From Washington Post

“I didn’t just burn the candle at both ends, I was also finding new ends to light.”

From New York Times