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

• wear
• kill
• tire
• exhaust
• drain
• burn out

Examples of wear out in a Sentence

keeping up with twin toddlers wears me out

Recent Examples on the Web

Hurts wore out a defense without Micah Parsons on touchdown runs of 4 and 8 yards — no legal tush push needed. —Dan Gelston, Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025

Vermeer and Interlune are considering ways to engineer the machines so parts that wear out can be robotically changed. —Jeremy Bogaisky, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025

You’ll likely be worn out, so opt for a casual spot for dinner. —Jennifer Broome, Denver Post, 22 Aug. 2025

These metallic sneakers from Veja are fancy enough to wear out on the town, but comfy enough to don for long days of sightseeing; pair them with your lounge set for the plane and save space in your carry-on. —Amber Cardullo, Travel + Leisure, 22 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for wear out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout

Kids Definition

wear out

verb

1

: to tire gradually

worn out from exercising

2

: to make or become useless by wear