wear thin

W w

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [wair thin]
- /wɛər θɪn/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [wair thin]
- /wɛər θɪn/

Definitions of wear thin words

verb with object wear thin to carry or have on the body or about the person as a covering, equipment, ornament, or the like: to wear a coat; to wear a saber; to wear a disguise. 1
verb with object wear thin to have or use on the person habitually: to wear a wig. 1
verb with object wear thin to bear or have in one's aspect or appearance: to wear a smile; to wear an air of triumph. 1
verb with object wear thin to cause (garments, linens, etc.) to deteriorate or change by wear: Hard use has worn these gloves. 1
verb with object wear thin to impair, deteriorate, or consume gradually by use or any continued process: Long illness had worn the bloom from her cheeks. 1
verb with object wear thin to waste or diminish gradually by rubbing, scraping, washing, etc.: The waves have worn these rocks. 1

See all 29 definitions of wear thin

Information block about the term

Origin of wear thin

First appearance:

before 900

One of the 4% oldest English words

before 900; (v.) Middle English weren to have (clothes) on the body, waste, damage, suffer waste or damage, Old English werian; cognate with Old Norse verja, Gothic wasjan to clothe; (noun) late Middle English were act of carrying on the body, derivative of the v.; akin to Latin vestis clothing (see vest)

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Wear thin

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Wear thin

wear thin popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 99% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

wear thin usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for wear thin

verb wear thin

fray — a raveled or worn part, as in cloth: frays at the toes of well-worn sneakers.
wear — to carry or have on the body or about the person as a covering, equipment, ornament, or the like: to wear a coat; to wear a saber; to wear a disguise.

All 2 Synonyms of wear thin