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wear and tear

or wear-and-tear

[tair]
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noun
  1. damage or deterioration resulting from ordinary use; normal depreciation.
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Origin of wear and tear

First recorded in 1660–70
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for wear and tear

depletion, erosion, depreciation, attrition, consumption, dissipation, decrement, ablation, overuse, weathering

Examples from the Web for wear and tear

Historical Examples of wear and tear

  • The wear-and-tear of rust is even faster than the tear-and-wear of work.

    Character

    Samuel Smiles

  • Even the London scenery is faithfully reproduced in material of extra strength, to stand the wear-and-tear of constant removal.

British Dictionary definitions for wear and tear

wear and tear

noun
  1. damage, depreciation, or loss resulting from ordinary use
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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

Idioms and Phrases with wear and tear

wear and tear

Damage and deterioration resulting from ordinary use and exposure, as in This sofa shows a lot of wear and tear; we should replace it. [Second half of 1600s]

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.