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 field, he writes, is “following a well worn hype cycle that we have seen again, and again, during the 60+ year history of AI.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 5, 2024
While her path across the border was risky, it was also well worn.
From New York Times • Apr. 17, 2023
Masks are most effective when they are sealed well, worn correctly and layered with other precautions.
From Scientific American • Mar. 13, 2023
It doesn’t help that the new episodes’ themes feel so well worn.
From Washington Post • Jun. 3, 2022
Edson departed as well, worn out by the previous two months of providing care.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
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.
