idiom · informal
burn the candle at both ends
UK/bɜːn ðə ˈkændl æt bəʊθ ɛndz/US/bɝːn ðə ˈkændl æt boʊθ ɛndz/burn·the·CAN·dle·at·both·ENDS
to work or study so much, especially early and late, that you become very tired
Examples
“During exams she was burning the candle at both ends and soon felt exhausted.”
“He kept burning the candle at both ends to finish his dissertation.”
“Students who burn the candle at both ends often get ill from lack of sleep.”
Band 8 sentence
“I warned him that if he kept burning the candle at both ends to juggle two part-time jobs and full-time study, his health would suffer.”
Collocations
- burn the candle at both ends to meet a deadline
Word family
Common mistakes
burn candle both ends→burn the candle at both ends
burn the candle both ends→burn the candle at both ends
Say it for a higher band
5work too hard→6study too much→7+burn the candle at both ends
Synonyms
work oneself to exhaustion
Easily confused
work oneself to exhaustion
“He worked himself to exhaustion finishing the project.”
Related words
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In Study
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