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:
Edwards said the club had been unable to pay for winter training facilities on time and coaches had to make do with "worn-out resources".
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Our bodies have a mechanism for rebuilding worn-out or damaged tissue, replacing whole sections of our selves annually.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Her look evolves from a worn-out cog to a biker-like granny who’d seem natural riding on the back of Dennis Hopper’s hog.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026
A strategy that strengthens the body's natural capacity to replace worn-out mitochondria could, in principle, help address all of these problems at once.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 27, 2025
I don’t know what to expect, which usually makes me nervous, but I’m too worn-out from the past few days to feel much of anything.
From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth
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
"People are exhausted and worn out," a 32-year-old lawyer in Sanaa told AFP, asking not to be named.
From Barron's ● Mar. 16, 2026
Its largely reservist army is worn out from redeployments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026
Osteoarthritis is not simply about "worn out" joints.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 4, 2026
If it were simply a mistake in aim no one would say anything, but the truth is that the barrels are worn out.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
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.
