be running on empty
informalto continue to work and be active when you have no energy left:
I get the impression he's been running on empty for months now. A holiday will do him good.
mainly US and Australian English If a person or an organization is running on empty, they have no new ideas or are not as effective as they were before:
The fund-raising campaign was running on empty after ten years under the same leader.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Effort and expending energy
- apply
- assiduous
- bust a gut idiom
- concentrated
- conscientious
- doing
- fight
- jump
- mind
- overcompensate
- pains
- painstaking
- painstakingly
- perseverance
- shot
- slugger
- strenuous
- thirsty work
- trial and error
- work up sth
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Failing and doing badly