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.
Both of those stories work because they’re not just stories about how our past relationships shape us — that well-worn element of trauma plots — but how we’re also shaped by the social narratives we’re raised with.
From Los Angeles Times
A focus on premium fares would be a departure from its ultralow-cost business model, but a well-worn page from the playbook that major U.S. airlines have followed in recent months.
From MarketWatch
Jones is equally adept at the delicate prose, as in this description of a well-worn family Bible: “The paper, thin as butterfly wings, was heavy with wisdom.”
From Los Angeles Times
Luckily for both women, there was a well-worn path from the track to the Winter Olympics: Just hop onto a sled.
From Los Angeles Times
The question is nothing more than a politician’s well-worn small talk, but Travis says, gravely, “You should clean up this city here.”
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.
