wear out

verb

wore out; worn out; wearing out; wears out

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 (time) tediously

wear out idle days

intransitive verb

: to become useless from long or excessive wear or use

Synonyms

• break
• burn out
• bust
• do in
• do up
• drain
• exhaust
• fag
• fatigue
• frazzle
• harass
• kill
• knock out
• outwear
• tire
• tucker (out)
• wash out
• wear
• weary

Examples of wear out in a Sentence

keeping up with twin toddlers wears me out

Recent Examples on the Web

In the postseason, a setting where the common thinking is that teams slow down, the blue and gold kept their speed and wore out opponents. —Tony East, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024

Because of the soft cotton material, the leggings are better for lounging and wearing out than for exercising. —Quincy Bulin, Parents, 16 Oct. 2024

Take Hailey Bieber in her boxy Saint Laurent suit, worn out in L.A. with friends. —Christian Allaire, Vogue, 27 Oct. 2024

But that hopeful news—and the constant drumbeat of election developments—seems to have drowned out another important, yet more sobering, trend: Consumers as a group are worn out by inflation and all the other financial disruptions triggered by the COVID pandemic. —Greg Petro, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

wear out

verb

1

: to tire gradually

worn out from exercising

2

: to make or become useless by wear