(of machinery or appliances) worn-out; dilapidated.
(of a person) exhausted; fatigued.
informal (clapped-out when prenominal) (esp of machinery) worn out; dilapidated
extremely tired; exhausted
First recorded in 1945–50
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Given the form of each team going into the semi-final and Conte’s apparent belief that even a clapped-out Diego Costa is better than Michy Batshuayi, Scenario B looks more likely.
From The Guardian • Apr. 21, 2017
The production, wrote Holly Williams in The Independent, "pitches its audience into a zanily macabre funfair, the traverse stage littered with clapped-out bumper cars and a giant clown's head".
From BBC • Dec. 2, 2014
For all the talk of him being too old for Edith, he doesn't seem like a clapped-out crock to me.
From Slate • Jan. 7, 2013
The visible impact on the economy, through the recession that followed the financial crisis, and the price of rescuing the clapped-out banks, is obvious.
From The Guardian • Jun. 30, 2012
“Crumbs, how long does it take! The instruments are the same whether you’re flying a Barracuda dive-bomber or a clapped-out old Tiger Moth, and the flaps are automatic! Easy peasy!”
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
