wear and tear

American  

[tair] / tɛər /

Or wear-and-tear

noun

1. damage or deterioration resulting from ordinary use; normal depreciation.

---

wear and tear British  

noun

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

---

wear and tear Idioms  

1. 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]

---

Etymology

Origin of wear and tear

First recorded in 1660–70

Example Sentences

The wear and tear of an intense road trip in which the first five games all came down to the final minutes didn’t faze Doncic.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026

“There’s going to be wear and tear on the Navy that’s going to be difficult to recover from very quickly,” said Thomas Shugart, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026

This is why describing osteoarthritis as simple "wear and tear" is misleading.

From Science Daily • Mar. 4, 2026

As of February 2025, a total of 220 requests have been made to replace medals won at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games because of wear and tear - roughly 4% of those awarded.

From BBC • Feb. 9, 2026

Smiling, he said, “I can’t see any wear and tear anywhere. You both look like you’re in pretty good shape to me.”

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Related Words

• depletion
• depreciation
• erosion