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

Too much laundering can wear out, fade, or shrink fabrics before their time. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 12 June 2025

The Bose QuietComfort Headphones are $100 off and make noisy commutes disappear with top-tier ANC and rich, customizable audio that won’t wear out your ears. —Shubham Yewale, PC Magazine, 10 June 2025

Plus, this Lands’ End one, along with this racerback style, could be worn out of the pool, too. —Alyssa Grabinski, People.com, 7 June 2025

These debates — which have worn out everyone involved — will reach a climax as Daniel Levy decides whether to keep Postecoglou on for next season or not. —Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 30 May 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