Wear out means to become damaged or useless through use (shoes, clothes, objects), or to exhaust someone, to make them very tired. The form worn out works like an adjective: worn-out shoes are shoes that are falling apart, and I'm worn out means I have no energy left.
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shoes/clothes + wear out; wear + something + out; wear + someone + out; be worn out
- I walk to work every day, so my shoes wear out in a few months.
- The kids ran around the park all afternoon and completely wore me out.
- After three night shifts in a row, she was completely worn out.
What changed
First versionMy trainers are completely weared out, so I need a new pair.
RevisionMy trainers are completely worn out, so I need a new pair.
Wear is an irregular verb: wear, wore, worn. Weared follows the pattern of regular verbs, but it doesn't exist. So the correct form is worn out, which describes both shoes that are falling apart and extreme tiredness.
Worn out is stronger than tired: I'm tired means you need a rest; I'm worn out means you're completely exhausted. If someone or something tired you out, the pronoun goes between the verb and the particle: The kids wore me out. Nobody says wore out me.
Your turn
I've worn these boots every day for three years, and they're finally ___.
Show the answer
worn out — The boots have been worn every day for three years and are no longer usable: worn out. Wear off is used for something that gradually fades or disappears, like paint, writing or the effect of a medicine, not for the shoes themselves.
Write about a day or activity that exhausted you. Say what exactly you were doing and how many hours it took.
Moving my sister into her new flat wore me out: we carried boxes up four floors for six hours.
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