wear out meaning and examples

Meaning

wear out means:

1. To use something so much that it becomes damaged or unusable.
2. To make someone extremely tired or exhausted.

Grammar and Usage

• Phrasal verb (transitive / intransitive)
• Patterns:
  • wear out + object
    e.g., This job is wearing me out.
  • be worn out (adjective) — very tired
    e.g., I'm worn out after work.
  • wear out (no object) — something becomes unusable
    e.g., These shoes wore out quickly.

Common Phrases

• wear someone out — exhaust someone
• be worn out — be very tired
• wear out one’s welcome — stay somewhere too long

Collocations

• wear out + shoes/clothes/batteries
• completely worn out
• worn-out (adjective): worn-out jeans, worn-out carpet

Examples

1. The kids wore me out today.
2. My running shoes are starting to wear out.
3. Studying all night really wore her out.
4. That old sofa is completely worn out.
5. He looked worn out after the long trip.
6. Constant use will wear out the machine.
7. Don’t wear yourself out before the game.
8. The pages of the book wore out from frequent reading.

Synonyms or Related

• exhaust
• tire out
• use up
• run down
• drain (energy)

Antonym

• energize
• refresh