Adjacent Words

wear out definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress; "We wore ourselves out on this hike" [syn: tire, wear upon, tire out, wear, weary, jade, wear out, outwear, wear down, fag out, fag, fatigue] [ant: freshen, refresh, refreshen]
2: go to pieces; "The lawn mower finally broke"; "The gears wore out"; "The old chair finally fell apart completely" [syn: break, wear, wear out, bust, fall apart]
3: deteriorate through use or stress; "The constant friction wore out the cloth" [syn: wear, wear off, wear out, wear down, wear thin]

Merriam Webster's

verb Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. tire, exhaust 2. to make useless especially by long or hard usage 3. erase, efface 4. to endure through ; outlast <wear out a storm> 5. to consume (as time) tediously <wear out idle days> intransitive verb to become useless from long or excessive wear or use

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. When something wears out or when you wear it out, it is used so much that it becomes thin or weak and unable to be used any more. Every time she consulted her watch, she wondered if the batteries were wearing out... Horses used for long-distance riding tend to wear their shoes out more quickly... He wore out his shoes wandering around Mexico City. PHRASAL VERB: V P, V n P, V P n (not pron) 2. If something wears you out, it makes you feel extremely tired. (INFORMAL) The past few days had really worn him out... The young people run around kicking a ball, wearing themselves out... The effect of the continuous attacks has been to wear out his troops. PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V pron-refl P, V P n (not pron) 3. see also worn out

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

1. Consume, render useless, waste. 2. Consume tediously. 3. Harass, tire. 4. Waste the strength of.

Moby Thesaurus

ablate, abrade, beat, bugger, burden, burn out, crush one, debilitate, do in, do up, enervate, erode, exhaust, fag, fag out, fatigue, flag, flog, fray, frazzle, fret, harass, haunt, haunt the memory, hide, jade, knock out, knock up, larrup, lash, obsess, oppress, outwear, overfatigue, overstrain, overtire, overweary, poop, poop out, prey on, prostrate, rub off, scourge, stripe, tatter, thrash, tire, tire out, tire to death, tucker, use up, weaken, wear, wear away, wear down, wear off, wear on, wear ragged, wear upon one, weary, weather, weigh upon, weight down, whale, wilt, wind