bore

1 of 6

verb (1)

bored; boring

transitive verb

1
: to pierce with a turning or twisting movement of a tool
bore a wooden post
2
: to make by boring or digging away material
bored a tunnel
use a drill to bore a hole through the board

intransitive verb

1
a
: to make a hole by or as if by boring
insects that bore into trees
b
: to sink a mine shaft or well
boring for oil
2
: to make one's way steadily especially against resistance
We bored through the jostling crowd.

bore

2 of 6

noun (1)

1
a
: a usually cylindrical hole made by or as if by the turning or twisting movement of a tool : a hole made by or as if by boring (see bore entry 1)
b
chiefly Australia and New Zealand : a borehole drilled especially to make an artesian well
2
a
: the long usually cylindrical hollow part of something (such as a tube or gun barrel)
b
: the inner surface of a hollow cylindrical object
3
: the size of a bore: such as
a
: the interior diameter of a gun barrel
especially, chiefly British : gauge sense 1a(2)
a .22 bore revolver
b
: the diameter of an engine cylinder

bore

3 of 6

past tense of bear

bore

4 of 6

noun (2)

: a tidal flood with a high abrupt front
a dangerous bore at the mouth of the Amazon

bore

5 of 6

noun (3)

: one that causes weariness and restlessness through lack of interest : one that causes boredom: such as
a
: a dull or tiresome person
His friends are a bunch of bores.
b
: something that is devoid of interest
The lecture was a total bore.

bore

6 of 6

verb

bored; boring

transitive verb

: to cause to feel weariness and restlessness through lack of interest : to cause to feel boredom
trying not to bore your audience
got bored by the party and left

Examples of bore in a Sentence

Verb (1) some woodpecker bored holes in our tree in the backyard with some effort, she bored through the throng of yelling protestors Noun (3) for once, the graduation speaker wasn't a real bore Verb the professor's lifeless and unimaginative teaching style bored the students to death
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
And the normally stoic and (to a child) boring Frank McGee and Walter Cronkite reinforced our fears and confusion by tearfully repeating that that afternoon JFK had been shot and killed. Jody Mamone, Hartford Courant, 22 Nov. 2024 Birnbaum couldn’t have grasped at the time how fundamentally and importantly boring so much of Murakami’s writing is. Bailey Trela, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2024
Noun
Since 2016, officials studied and selected single bore, receiving federal environmental clearance. Dan Phan, The Mercury News, 12 Nov. 2024 The chief thought about what responsibility Washington bore for what was happening in Whitewater; after all, the federal government operated the nation’s immigration system. Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica, 24 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for bore 

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

Middle English boren, going back to Old English borian, going back to Germanic *bur-ō- (whence Old High German borōn "to pierce," Old Norse bora), probably verbal derivative of a noun base bur- "tool for piercing" (whence Old English bor "chiseling instrument," Old High German bora); akin to Latin forāre "to bore," ferīre "to strike"

Noun (1)

Middle English, "hole, perforation," in part noun derivative of boren "to bore entry 1," in part borrowed from Old Norse bora "borehole," derivative of bora "to bore"

Noun (2)

Middle English *bore wave, from Old Norse bāra

Noun (3)

of uncertain origin

Note: Plausibly a derivative of the verb bore entry 6, if this was a sense development of bore entry 1 ("to drill, wear at" & "to induce ennui"); however, the noun, a vogue word among London political and cultural figures in the 1760's, appears to predate the verb.

Verb

perhaps verbal derivative of bore entry 5 if the noun is earlier

Note: See note at bore entry 5.

First Known Use

Verb (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (1)

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

Noun (2)

1601, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

1766, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1768, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bore was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near bore

Cite this Entry

“Bore.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bore. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

bore

1 of 6 verb
ˈbō(ə)r How to pronounce bore (audio)
ˈbȯ(ə)r
bored; boring
1
: to make a hole in especially with a drill
2
: to make (as a hole shaped like a cylinder) by boring or digging away material
bore a well
3
: to move forward steadily especially by overcoming an opposing force
the plane bored through the storm

bore

2 of 6 noun
1
: a hole made by or as if by boring
2
: a cavity (as in a gun barrel) shaped like a cylinder
3
: the diameter of a hole or tube
especially : the interior diameter of a gun barrel

bore

3 of 6

past of bear

bore

4 of 6 noun
: a tidal flood with a high abrupt front

bore

5 of 6 noun
: an uninteresting person or thing

bore

6 of 6 verb
bored; boring
: to make weary and restless by being dull or monotonous
Etymology

Verb

Old English borian "to bore"

Noun

probably of Norse origin

Noun

origin unknown

Medical Definition

bore

1 of 2

past of bear

bore

2 of 2 noun
1
: the long usually cylindrical hollow part of something (as a tube or artery)
2
: the internal diameter of a tube (as a hypodermic needle, catheter, or sound)
a small-bore catheter

Legal Definition

bore

past of bear

More from Merriam-Webster on bore

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!