wear out - Idioms - by the Free Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

wear someone out

Fig. to exhaust someone; to make someone tired. The coach made the team practice until he wore them out. If he wears out everybody on the team, nobody will be left to play in the game.

See also: out, wear

wear something out

to make something worthless or nonfunctional from use. I wore my shoes out in no time at all. I wore out my shoes in less than a month.

See also: out, wear

wear out

to become worn from use; to become diminished or useless from use. My car engine is about to wear out. It takes a lot of driving to wear out an engine.

See also: out, wear

wear somebody out

to make someone very tired Those kids wore their grandmother out. The journey wore him out, and he went straight to bed as soon as he got to the hotel.

See also: out, wear

wear out something also wear something out

to use something so much that it can no longer be used Randy's been cooking in a kitchen that's so old, almost everything in it has simply worn out. He wore out a pair of running shoes every three months.

Usage notes: sometimes used without something: On rough roads, tires wear out fast.

See also: out, wear

? References in classic literature
Do not reason about it, my philosphical reader, and say that Hetty, being very pretty, must have known that it did not signify whether she had on any ornaments or not; and that, moreover, to look at ear- rings which she could not possibly wear out of her bedroom could hardly be a satisfaction, the essence of vanity being a reference to the impressions produced on others; you will never understand women's natures if you are so excessively rational. Adam Bede by Eliot, George View in context They would be just the thing to take a long walk in, for they could not wear out. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Baum, L. Frank View in context The wings would wear out before they got half-way; even the pin-feathers would be gone; the wing frames would be as bare as kite sticks before the paper is pasted on. Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven by Twain, Mark View in context More results

? References in classic literature

Do not reason about it, my philosphical reader, and say that Hetty, being very pretty, must have known that it did not signify whether she had on any ornaments or not; and that, moreover, to look at ear- rings which she could not possibly wear out of her bedroom could hardly be a satisfaction, the essence of vanity being a reference to the impressions produced on others; you will never understand women's natures if you are so excessively rational.

Adam Bede by Eliot, George View in context

They would be just the thing to take a long walk in, for they could not wear out.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Baum, L. Frank View in context

The wings would wear out before they got half-way; even the pin-feathers would be gone; the wing frames would be as bare as kite sticks before the paper is pasted on.

Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven by Twain, Mark View in context

More results