bore

¹

[ bawr ]

verb (used with object)

, bored, bor·ing.

1. to weary by dullness or sameness:

   The long speech bored me.

   Synonyms: annoy, tire, fatigue

   Antonyms: enrapture, thrill, amuse

noun

1. a dull, tiresome, or uncongenial person:

   He's such a bore that I'd rather stay home than go out with him.

2. a cause of inconvenience or petty annoyance:

   The job has a lot of repetitive tasks that are a bore to do.

bore

²

[ bawr ]

verb (used with object)

, bored, bor·ing.

1. to pierce (a solid substance) with some rotary cutting instrument.

   Synonyms: drill, perforate

2. to make (a hole) by drilling with such an instrument.
3. to form, make, or construct (a tunnel, mine, well, passage, etc.) by hollowing out, cutting through, or removing a core of material:

   to bore a tunnel through the Alps;

   to bore an oil well 3,000 feet deep.

4. Machinery. to enlarge (a hole) to a precise diameter with a cutting tool within the hole, by rotating either the tool or the work.
5. to force (an opening), as through a crowd, by persistent forward thrusting (usually followed by through or into ); to force or make (a passage).

verb (used without object)

, bored, bor·ing.

1. to make a hole in a solid substance with a rotary cutting instrument.
2. Machinery. to enlarge a hole to a precise diameter.
3. (of a substance) to admit of being bored:

   Certain types of steel do not bore well.

noun

1. a hole made or enlarged by boring.
2. the inside diameter of a hole, tube, or hollow cylindrical or conical object or device, such as a bushing or bearing, engine cylinder, musical wind instrument, or barrel of a gun.

   Synonyms: caliber

bore

³

[ bawr, bohr ]

noun

1. an abrupt rise of tidal water moving rapidly inland from the mouth of an estuary.

bore

⁴

[ bawr, bohr ]

verb

1. simple past tense of bear ¹.

bore

¹

/ bɔː /

verb

1. See bear
   the past tense of bear 1

bore

²

/ bɔː /

verb

1. to produce (a hole) in (a material) by use of a drill, auger, or other cutting tool
2. to increase the diameter of (a hole), as by an internal turning operation on a lathe or similar machine
3. tr to produce (a hole in the ground, tunnel, mine shaft, etc) by digging, drilling, cutting, etc
4. informal.
   intr (of a horse or athlete in a race) to push other competitors, esp in order to try to get them out of the way

noun

1. a hole or tunnel in the ground, esp one drilled in search of minerals, oil, etc
2. 1. a circular hole in a material produced by drilling, turning, or drawing
   2. the diameter of such a hole
3. 1. the hollow part of a tube or cylinder, esp of a gun barrel
   2. the diameter of such a hollow part; calibre
4. an artesian well

bore

³

/ bɔː /

verb

1. tr to tire or make weary by being dull, repetitious, or uninteresting

noun

1. a dull, repetitious, or uninteresting person, activity, or state

bore

⁴

/ bɔː /

noun

1. a high steep-fronted wave moving up a narrow estuary, caused by the tide

bore

/ bôr /

1. In fluid mechanics, a jump in the level of moving water, generally propagating in the opposite direction to the current. Strong ocean tides can cause bores to propagate up rivers.
2. 1. The white, shallow portion of a wave after it breaks. The bore carries ocean water onto the beach.
   2. A tidal wave caused by the surge of a flood tide upstream in a narrowing estuary or by colliding tidal currents.

Derived Forms

• bored, adjective

Other Words From

• bore·a·ble bor·a·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bore¹

First recorded in 1760–70; of uncertain origin

Origin of bore²

First recorded before 900; Middle English bor(i)en, Old English borian; cognate with Old High German borōn, German bohren, Old Norse bora, Latin forāre

Origin of bore³

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English bare “a wave, billow,” from Old Norse bāra

Word History and Origins

Origin of bore¹

Old English borian ; related to Old Norse bora , Old High German borōn to bore, Latin forāre to pierce, Greek pharos ploughing, phárunx pharynx

Origin of bore²

C18: of unknown origin

Origin of bore³

C17: from Old Norse bāra wave, billow

Example Sentences

Forcing kids into longer seat times bores children who don’t need the extra time while stealing instructional attention from those who do.

From Washington Post

Corny and boring in bed, the boyfriend is unappealing but Roberts has trouble pulling herself out of the situation.

From Essence.com

Studies from the late 1970s suggested that getting bored can make you more creative, and 21st-century research has backed that up.

From Popular-Science

Upon graduating she took a job with an oil company in Oklahoma but was bored by work that involved neither fieldwork nor research.

From Science News

“Something that long and boring only the New Yorker would publish,” Astor said.

From Washington Post

The former senior intelligence official said the hacking bore the hallmarks of a “campaign,” and not a one-off operation.

From The Daily Beast

The eventual deal, approved by Law 840 in June 2013, bore little resemblance to the original.

From The Daily Beast

They bought La Pietra, where she bore a son, Harold, the following year.

From The Daily Beast

In 2010, Jake Holmes sued over “Dazed and Confused,” claiming it bore a strong resemblance to his own song of the same name.

From The Daily Beast

In the end he was left with a disappointing product that bore little of his creative fingerprint.

From The Daily Beast

So he bore down on the solemn declaration that she stood face to face with a prison term for perjury.

From Project Gutenberg

Each picture bore a label, giving a true description of the once-honoured gem.

From Project Gutenberg

Haggard merely played for the excitement, and Spunyarn because it was a lesser bore to play than to look on.

From Project Gutenberg

He rose upon it, it was under him, he felt its lift and irresistible momentum; almost it bore him up the steps.

From Project Gutenberg

He bore a distinguished part in the war in South Carolina, and was closely identified with the early history of the state.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• annoy
• bother
• exhaust
• fatigue
• irk
• irritate
• jade
• tire
• worry