boring

¹ American  

[bawr-ing] / ˈbɔr ɪŋ /

adjective

1. causing or marked by boredom; dull and uninteresting; tiresome: to have a boring time.

   a boring discussion;

   to have a boring time.

   Synonyms:

   tedious, tiresome, dull

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boring ² American  

[bawr-ing, bohr-] / ˈbɔr ɪŋ, ˈboʊr- /

noun

1. Machinery.

   1. the act or process of making or enlarging a hole.

   2. the hole so made.

2. Geology. a cylindrical sample of earth strata obtained by boring a vertical hole.

3. borings, the chips, fragments, or dust produced in boring.

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boring ¹ British  

/ ˈbɔːrɪŋ /

noun

1. 1. the act or process of making or enlarging a hole

   2. the hole made in this way

2. (often plural) a fragment, particle, chip, etc, produced during boring

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boring ² British  

/ ˈbɔːrɪŋ /

adjective

1. dull; repetitious; uninteresting

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Other Word Forms

• boringly adverb
• boringness noun

Etymology

Origin of boring¹

First recorded in 1835–45; bore ¹ + -ing ²

Origin of boring²

First recorded in 1400–50; bore ² + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Ducking my head and running as fast as my legs could carry me, I started boring my way through the underbrush.

From Literature

I think it’s boring, but I guess we put so much thought and energy into naming babies, we don’t have any left over.

From Literature

He tells BBC Newsbeat that he expected to receive a cease and desist letter from the retail giant after describing some of the clothes as "boring" and "tacky PE kit".

From BBC

Private credit managers have another solution available to them that is so obvious and boring it apparently hasn’t occurred to anyone participating in this month’s stock selloff.

From Barron's

Exchange-traded funds became America’s dominant investment vehicle by being cheap, boring and relatively safe.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• dull
• humdrum
• lifeless
• monotonous
• mundane
• stale
• stodgy
• stuffy
• stupid
• tame
• tedious
• tiresome
• tiring
• trite
• uninteresting