Synonyms

wear down

British

verb

to consume or be consumed by long or constant wearing, rubbing, etc
to overcome or be overcome gradually by persistent effort

"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

wear down Idioms

Diminish, weaken, or tire by relentless pressure, as in The heels of these shoes are quite worn down, or Her constant nagging about getting a new car wore down his resistance. [First half of 1800s]

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.

See Examples For:

wear down

Equipment would also wear down, break, and eventually need to be replaced.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

The time it took Liverpool to wear down Newcastle over striker Alexander Isak's deal last summer is fresh in the mind.

From BBC ● May 28, 2026

But today, as A.I. widgets ooze through every crack of our digital lives, our reflexive outrage at the overreach is starting to wear down.

From Slate ● Apr. 23, 2026

Such changes would violate warranties and could wear down components and risk breakdowns as tractors and harvesters age, the company has said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026

On Earth, tiny particles get attached to water or wear down to nothing.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023