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

From New York Times • Oct. 24, 2020

The NBA released its 2019-20 schedule Monday, and the big winners are East Coast fans who have been forced to burn the candle at both ends.

From Washington Post • Aug. 12, 2019

As Mr Kalanick himself admits, he used to think you had to burn the candle at both ends to be the real deal as head of a Silicon Valley start-up.

From BBC • Mar. 1, 2017

In a LinkedIn post last year, The Huffington Post president and editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington revealed that she’s often asked if young people pursuing their dreams should burn the candle at both ends?

From Time • Jul. 24, 2015

He cannot burn the candle at both ends, and the attempt to do so will almost inevitably result in his lighting it in the middle to boot.

From Health, Happiness, and Longevity Health without medicine: happiness without money: the result, longevity by McCarty, Louis Philippe