threadbare
Americanadjective
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having the nap worn off so as to lay bare the threads of the warp and woof, as a fabric, garment, etc.
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wearing threadbare clothes; shabby or poor.
a threadbare old man.
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meager, scanty, or poor.
a threadbare emotional life.
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hackneyed; trite; ineffectively stale.
threadbare arguments.
adjective
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(of cloth, clothing, etc) having the nap worn off so that the threads are exposed
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meagre or poor
a threadbare existence
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hackneyed
a threadbare argument
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wearing threadbare clothes; shabby
Other Word Forms
- threadbareness noun
Etymology
Origin of threadbare
First recorded in 1325–75, threadbare is from the Middle English word thredbare. See thread, bare 1
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.
“She began being grateful for the blankets, the only thing she had — and they were threadbare blankets,” Conniff says.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026
European allies might join the U.S. in defending the Strait, but their navies are already threadbare.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
In trying to prevent the goal, Joe Gomez picked up an injury to further deplete Liverpool's already threadbare options at centre-back.
From Barron's • Jan. 24, 2026
Wednesday are second bottom of the Championship with six points from nine games after a torrid period off the field has left them with a threadbare squad.
From BBC • Oct. 16, 2025
Her blue flannel shirt was threadbare and old, and her silky blond hair was up in a topknot.
From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart
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.
