bane

American  

[beyn] / beɪn /

noun

1. a person or thing that ruins or spoils.

   Gambling was the bane of his existence.

2. a deadly poison (often used in combination, as in the names of poisonous plants).

   wolfsbane;

   henbane.

3. death; destruction; ruin.

4. Obsolete. that which causes death or destroys life.

   entrapped and drowned beneath the watery bane.

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bane ¹ British  

/ beɪn /

noun

1. a person or thing that causes misery or distress (esp in the phrase bane of one's life )

2. something that causes death or destruction

3. 1. a fatal poison

   2. ( in combination )

      ratsbane

4. archaic ruin or distress

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bane ² British  

/ beɪn, ben /

noun

1. a Scot word for bone

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Etymology

Origin of bane

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English bana “slayer”; cognate with Old Norse bani “death, murderer,” Old Frisian bona “murder,” Old Saxon bano “murderer,” Old High German bano “slayer,” bana “death”; akin to Armenian ǰnǰel “to destroy,” Greek theínein “to strike,” Latin -fendere “to strike,” Persian zahr “poison,” Polish gonić “to pursue,” Sanskrit hánti “to strike”

Example Sentences

For now, "brain fry" is primarily a bane for software developers given that AI agents have excelled quickly at writing computer code.

From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026

Potholes - they're the bane of road users' lives.

From BBC • Feb. 9, 2026

Falling prices are a boon for buyers but a bane for homeowners.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 3, 2025

There is a mountain of paperwork to be done, the bane of every cop.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025

“Anything that’s a giants’ bane is good for us, right?

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan