bore
1to weary by dullness or sameness: The long speech bored me.
a dull, tiresome, or uncongenial person: He's such a bore that I'd rather stay home than go out with him.
a cause of inconvenience or petty annoyance: The job has a lot of repetitive tasks that are a bore to do.
Origin of bore
1Other words for bore
Opposites for bore
Words that may be confused with bore
Words Nearby bore
Other definitions for bore (2 of 4)
to pierce (a solid substance) with some rotary cutting instrument.
to make (a hole) by drilling with such an instrument.
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.
Machinery. to enlarge (a hole) to a precise diameter with a cutting tool within the hole, by rotating either the tool or the work.
to force (an opening), as through a crowd, by persistent forward thrusting (usually followed by through or into); to force or make (a passage).
to make a hole in a solid substance with a rotary cutting instrument.
Machinery. to enlarge a hole to a precise diameter.
(of a substance) to admit of being bored: Certain types of steel do not bore well.
a hole made or enlarged by boring.
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.
Origin of bore
2Other words for bore
Other words from bore
- bore·a·ble, bor·a·ble, adjective
Other definitions for bore (3 of 4)
an abrupt rise of tidal water moving rapidly inland from the mouth of an estuary.
Origin of bore
3- Also called tidal bore .
Other definitions for bore (4 of 4)
simple past tense of bear1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use bore in a sentence
Forcing kids into longer seat times bores children who don’t need the extra time while stealing instructional attention from those who do.
Teacher: What Americans keep getting wrong about our unions during the pandemic | Valerie Strauss | February 2, 2021 | Washington PostCorny and boring in bed, the boyfriend is unappealing but Roberts has trouble pulling herself out of the situation.
Studies from the late 1970s suggested that getting bored can make you more creative, and 21st-century research has backed that up.
Upon graduating she took a job with an oil company in Oklahoma but was bored by work that involved neither fieldwork nor research.
Marie Tharp’s groundbreaking maps brought the seafloor to the world | Betsy Mason | January 13, 2021 | Science News“Something that long and boring only the New Yorker would publish,” Astor said.
Ved Mehta, whose monumental autobiography explored life in India, dies at 86 | Harrison Smith | January 12, 2021 | Washington Post
The former senior intelligence official said the hacking bore the hallmarks of a “campaign,” and not a one-off operation.
Obama Could Hit China to Punish North Korea | Shane Harris, Tim Mak | December 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe eventual deal, approved by Law 840 in June 2013, bore little resemblance to the original.
China’s Nicaragua Canal Could Spark a New Central America Revolution | Nina Lakhani | November 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThey bought La Pietra, where she bore a son, Harold, the following year.
In Tussle Over Will, Mistress’s Family Takes a Bite Out of NYU | Anthony Haden-Guest | November 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn 2010, Jake Holmes sued over “Dazed and Confused,” claiming it bore a strong resemblance to his own song of the same name.
‘No Stairway, Denied!’ Led Zeppelin Lawsuit Winds on Down the Road | Keith Phipps | October 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn the end he was left with a disappointing product that bore little of his creative fingerprint.
So he bore down on the solemn declaration that she stood face to face with a prison term for perjury.
The Bondboy | George W. (George Washington) OgdenEach picture bore a label, giving a true description of the once-honoured gem.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsHaggard merely played for the excitement, and Spunyarn because it was a lesser bore to play than to look on.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsHe rose upon it, it was under him, he felt its lift and irresistible momentum; almost it bore him up the steps.
The Wave | Algernon BlackwoodHe bore a distinguished part in the war in South Carolina, and was closely identified with the early history of the state.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel Munsell
British Dictionary definitions for bore (1 of 4)
/ (bɔː) /
to produce (a hole) in (a material) by use of a drill, auger, or other cutting tool
to increase the diameter of (a hole), as by an internal turning operation on a lathe or similar machine
(tr) to produce (a hole in the ground, tunnel, mine shaft, etc) by digging, drilling, cutting, etc
(intr) informal (of a horse or athlete in a race) to push other competitors, esp in order to try to get them out of the way
a hole or tunnel in the ground, esp one drilled in search of minerals, oil, etc
a circular hole in a material produced by drilling, turning, or drawing
the diameter of such a hole
the hollow part of a tube or cylinder, esp of a gun barrel
the diameter of such a hollow part; calibre
Australian an artesian well
Origin of bore
1British Dictionary definitions for bore (2 of 4)
/ (bɔː) /
(tr) to tire or make weary by being dull, repetitious, or uninteresting
a dull, repetitious, or uninteresting person, activity, or state
Origin of bore
2Derived forms of bore
- bored, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for bore (3 of 4)
/ (bɔː) /
a high steep-fronted wave moving up a narrow estuary, caused by the tide
Origin of bore
3British Dictionary definitions for bore (4 of 4)
/ (bɔː) /
the past tense of bear 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for bore
[ bôr ]
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.
The white, shallow portion of a wave after it breaks. The bore carries ocean water onto the beach.
A tidal wave caused by the surge of a flood tide upstream in a narrowing estuary or by colliding tidal currents.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse