well-worn
Americanadjective
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showing the effects of extensive use or wear.
well-worn carpets.
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trite, hackneyed, or stale.
a well-worn saying.
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fittingly or becomingly worn or borne.
a well-worn reserve that never seems haughty.
adjective
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so much used as to be affected by wear
a well-worn coat
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used too often; hackneyed
a well-worn phrase
Etymology
Origin of well-worn
First recorded in 1615–25
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.
The well-worn sofa and adjacent armchairs suggest it’s because people sit in it.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026
If he moved to Radio 2, this would follow a well-worn path previously trodden by Chris Evans and Zoe Ball, who hosted its breakfast show having previously done the same for Radio 1.
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026
Sokolov’s eye for visual flair brings some much-needed panache to this well-worn formula, but even his playful directorial spirit isn’t enough to shake the feeling that one has seen this film before.
From Salon • Mar. 29, 2026
The question is nothing more than a politician’s well-worn small talk, but Travis says, gravely, “You should clean up this city here.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
Cady had been much too young to remember it, but she’d heard the story so many times that the details were as real and comfortable as a pair of well-worn shoes.
From "A Tangle of Knots" by Lisa Graff
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.
