boring
1 Americanadjective
noun
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borings
plural
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Machinery.
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the act or process of making or enlarging a hole.
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the hole so made.
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Geology. a cylindrical sample of earth strata obtained by boring a vertical hole.
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borings, the chips, fragments, or dust produced in boring.
noun
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the act or process of making or enlarging a hole
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the hole made in this way
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(often plural) a fragment, particle, chip, etc, produced during boring
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of boring1
First recorded in 1835–45; bore 1 + -ing 2
Origin of boring2
Explanation
As an adjective boring describes something (or someone) that is tedious, dull, and lacking in interest. As a noun, boring refers to the act of drilling a hole, or the hole itself. When a geologist's powerful drill makes a boring into the earth, you can remove a sample and learn about the history of our planet just by seeing what's contained in the boring's layers. Of course, if you aren't interested in that kind of thing, you might find a two-hour lecture on the subject a bit boring.
Vocabulary lists containing boring
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The most grippingly boring TV of the year.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
The writing is clever, coolly stylized and, alas, deathly boring.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
You talk about taking the slow road to retirement, not diverting down dirt tracks leading you to the Emerald City of AI, and how it seems, well, boring and safe.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
But Swain and others are betting that it’s unlikely this winter will be boring for California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
The problem was that math seemed so boring; his brain never needed urging when it came to reading or writing.
From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins
The district proposes to make 226 borings and dig 57 test pits into the Earth across 2,500 cubic yards, according to the project description.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2022
On underground projects, engineers and geologists try to foresee what’s below via soil borings throughout a construction site before excavating begins.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 29, 2018
The Vancouver, British Columbia-based company wants to use existing roads to access 14 locations to drill test borings to determine the possible value of its copper mining claim.
From Washington Times ● May 26, 2016
The company seeks to use existing roads to access 14 locations to drill test borings about 1,000 feet deep and a few inches across to assess the possible value of its copper-mining claim.
From Seattle Times ● May 25, 2016
And Odysseus took his time, turning the bow, tapping it, every inch, for borings that termites might have made while the master of the weapon was abroad.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
