Browse phrases beginning with: [A][B][C][D][E][F][G][H][I][J][K][L][M][N][O][P][Q][R][S][T][U,V][W][X,Y,Z] Run out of steamMeaning Run out of energy. Origin The allusion in this phrase is clearly to steam engines which gradually slow and then stop when the fire that powers the boiler is too low to produce steam. The first figurative uses come from the USA in the late 19th century. The earliest of these that I can find is from the Iowa newspaper The Perry Daily Chief, January 1898:
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