Definition of "fizzle"

fizzle

/ˈfɪzəl/

verb
third-person singular simple present fizzles, present participle fizzling, simple past and past participle fizzled
1. To sputter or hiss.
  Quotations
  It is the easest thing, sir, to be done, / As plain as fizzling.
  1616, Ben Jonson, The Devil Is an Ass
2. (figuratively, informal) To decay or die off to nothing; to burn out; to end less successfully than previously hoped.
  Quotations
  And so it fizzled to its close with Gary Cahill galloping around as an extra centre-forward, mutinous chants of “you’re not fit to wear the shirt,” from the England followers and Hodgson’s media staff announcing he would not take any questions.
  2016 June 27, Daniel Taylor, “England humiliated as Iceland knock them out of Euro 2016”, in The Guardian‎, London
3. (military, of a nuclear weapon) To fail to generate the expected yield when exploded during testing.
noun
plural fizzles
1. A spluttering or hissing sound.
2. (military) Failure of an exploding nuclear bomb to meet its expected yield during testing.
3. An abortive effort; a flop or dud.
4. A state of agitation or worry.