bane

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈbān 

1

: a source of harm or ruin : curse

… national frontiers have been more of a bane than a boon for mankind.

—D. C. Thomson

2

a

: death, destruction

… stop the way of those that seek my bane …

—Philip Sidney

b

: woe

c

: poison

d

obsolete : killer, slayer

bane

2 of 3

verb

baned; baning

transitive verb

obsolete

: to kill especially with poison

bane

3 of 3

noun (2)

chiefly Scotland

: bone

Synonyms of bane

Noun (1)

• curse
• nemesis

Examples of bane in a Sentence

Noun (1)

regarding the new laborsaving machinery as a bane, the 19th-century Luddites went about destroying it in protest

a plant that is believed to be the bane of the wolf

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Karen Fukuhara, who plays the regenerating supe Kimiko, said her final scene was with Erin Moriarty and Karl Urban (who plays Billy Butcher, leader and sometimes bane of The Boys). —ABC News, 20 May 2026

Triangle-shaped, prolific, and ever-challenging to manage, nutsedge is a bane to many gardeners’ existences because the underground nutlets formed within its roots establish new plants for every single plant that grows. —Anthony Reardon, Kansas City Star, 18 May 2026

For a decade, surfaces of materials were the bane of my existence. —Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 15 May 2026

For many Georgians, the roads around Atlanta are not only essential for getting around the state's capital city, but also the bane of their existence. —Irene Wright, USA Today, 9 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, "killer, agent of death, death," going back to Old English bana "killer, agent of death," going back to Germanic *banan- (whence also Old Frisian bana, bona "killer," Old High German bano "killer, murderer," Old Norse bani "murderer, violent death"), of uncertain origin

Note: Another Germanic derivative from the same base is represented by Old English benn (feminine strong noun) "wound, sore," Old Saxon beniwunda, Old Norse ben "wound," Gothic banja "blow, wound." Attempts have been made to derive the etymon from Indo-European *g^when- "strike, kill" (see defend), but the general view is that initial *g^wh could not yield b in Germanic. See further discussion in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Band 1, pp. 460-61.

Verb

derivative of bane entry 1

Noun (2)

early Scots and northern Middle English ban, bane, going back to Old English bān — more at bone entry 1

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2d

Verb

1578, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1578, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for bane

• ane
• blain
• brain
• cane
• chaine
• cheyne
• deign
• drain
• fain
• fane
• feign
• gain

Kids Definition

bane

noun

ˈbān

1

: poison entry 1 sense 1

2

: a source of harm, ruin, or unhappiness

greed is the bane of humanity

Medical Definition

bane

noun

ˈbān 

: poison see henbane