English · Idiom Candidate

burn the candle at both ends

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Also seen as: to burn the candle at both ends

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Lavish energy in more than one direction at the same time.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

tiêu tốn năng lượng theo nhiều hướng cùng một lúc

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

But as you are determined to live it up and have a good time, you must watch your health and try not to burn the candle at both ends.

He was not reassured by hearing Bruce Davidson in the passage cheerily observing to Catherine that she was looking a bittie pale; was it just the London air, or had she been burning the candle at both ends?

British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Euphemism (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).

Sense 2

Meaning · English

English proverb; full definition pending editorial review.

Sources & notes

Listed on English Wikiquote “English proverbs” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).

Common questions

What does “burn the candle at both ends” mean?

Lavish energy in more than one direction at the same time.

Is “burn the candle at both ends” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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