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 of wear out

• 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

The exhausting years-long battle to protect the resources and restorative magic of Grand Staircase-Escalante can wear out supporters. —Stephen Trimble, Denver Post, 18 Feb. 2026

Veterans worn out by last game In this three-team, four-quarter format, someone from Game 3 was always going to have to play in back-to-back games in the title matchup. —David K. Li, NBC news, 16 Feb. 2026

Most just waited for their infrastructure to wear out, which explains why the major economic gains from electrification didn’t show up for 40 years. —Josh Tyrangiel, The Atlantic, 10 Feb. 2026

Heating elements also tend to wear out after five to 10 years. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 9 Feb. 2026

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