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
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of threadbare
First recorded in 1325–75, threadbare is from the Middle English word thredbare. See thread, bare 1
Explanation
Those jeans you wear every day that have holes in the knees and thin patches in the rear? They're threadbare. Threadbare means "thin from overuse." Furniture, clothing, or a rug is threadbare if the fabric is thin and worn through. If your father tells the same jokes over and over again, you might accuse him of having a threadbare sense of humor. A friend who chooses to live a threadbare lifestyle doesn't have a lot of things, and what they do have is not in the best of shape. When you see this word, picture your childhood stuffed animal with the fur rubbed thin from too much cuddling.
Vocabulary lists containing threadbare
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The Great Gatsby
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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.
Poor countries that don’t have reserves to draw on and are on the sidelines of the AI boom are already struggling, with shortages closing factories and high import prices for energy straining threadbare government budgets.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
“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
The transfer will be a huge boost to Glasner, who said his threadbare side were in "survival mode" following Thursday's 1-1 draw with Fulham.
From Barron's • Jan. 2, 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
In front of the dusty storefronts where the peddlers would spread their secondhand wares on Sunday mornings, the threadbare awnings had been unrolled to shade carts and tables overladen with food and drinks.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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.
