worn-out
adjective
worn or used beyond repair.
worn-out
American
[wawrn-out, wohrn-]
/ ˈwɔrnˈaʊt, ˈwoʊrn- /
adjective
-
worn or used beyond repair.
-
depleted of energy, strength, or enthusiasm; exhausted; fatigued.
worn-out
British
adjective
-
worn or used until threadbare, valueless, or useless
-
exhausted; very weary
worn out
Idioms
Etymology
Origin of worn-out
First recorded in 1585–95
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:
Fans sit on plastic chairs arranged on the sandy floor, their chatter mingling with the hum of a worn-out generator.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
What can the beat-up, worn-out records at your local thrift store do to dodge a landfill and keep the Earth spinning?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
I make hotpads from worn-out terry cloth towels and I turn fabric scraps into comforter tops.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
Speaking to the BBC, dressed in worn-out clothes and bathroom slippers, he sounds stressed and bitter as he recalls his incarceration.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
The common area has an old TV, a worn-out sofa missing cushions, and a bookshelf full of dog-eared paperbacks and bent-up board games.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
Left behind is a charred out refrigerator, bed frames, a worn out and graffiti-covered couch, piles of left-behind clothes and the burnt debris of the home that once stood there.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
The president went on to say he planned to renovate a "dilapidated, worn out, and very dangerous" golf course in Washington called East Potomac Golf Links, located on an island in the Potomac River.
From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026
Osteoarthritis is not simply about "worn out" joints.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 4, 2026
Two heists made in broad daylight present a scarier challenge for museums worn out by soup-throwing protesters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 14, 2025
Her face looked worn out, but she was tense and pacing like a turkey before Christmas dinner.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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.
