wear down

verb

wore down; worn down; wearing down; wears down

transitive verb

: to weary and overcome by persistent resistance or pressure

Examples of wear down in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Also stop if sleep or appetite start slipping in one direction or another that leaves you weak and worn down, or the story becomes the only place your grief is allowed to exist. — Josh Rivera, USA Today, 3 Aug. 2026

The lack of sleep and lack of rest wears down firefighters physically and mentally; the mental alertness, the mental sharpness is not always there, and also the burnout. — Rashad Williams, CBS News, 31 July 2026

Doing the same motion constantly can wear down muscles, nerves or tendons, causing a repetitive strain injury, per Cleveland Clinic. — Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 25 July 2026

The factors that wear down a pipe’s structural integrity include soil compaction and water table variables, Soibelman said. — Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1774, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for wear down

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown