wear off
Britishverb
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(intr) to decrease in intensity gradually
the pain will wear off in an hour
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to disappear or cause to disappear gradually through exposure, use, etc
the pattern on the ring had been worn off
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.
“I wouldn’t eat Monday or Tuesday, then on Wednesday I could get a pastry, and then my shot would start to wear off around Saturday, so I usually got some calories on Saturday and Sunday.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
“The sugar rush from bigger-than-usual tax refunds will wear off soon,” said Samuel Tombs, chief U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
Professor Edwin Galea, from the University of Greenwich, said the effectiveness of retardant treatment on PU foam can wear off over time.
From BBC ● Jan. 2, 2026
"We did not see its effect wear off over time."
From Science Daily ● Nov. 18, 2025
It took a while for the shock to wear off, but presently she found an explanation for what had happened.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
