English
bore
Pronunciation
  • (America) IPA: /bɔɹ/
  • (RP) IPA: /bɔː/
  • (rhotic, non-horse-hoarse) IPA: /bo(ː)ɹ/
  • (non-rhotic, non-horse-hoarse) IPA: /boə/
Etymology 1

From Middle English boren, from Old English borian, from Proto-West Germanic *borōn, from Proto-Germanic *burōną.

Compare Danish bore, Norwegian Bokmål bore, Dutch boren, German bohren, Old Norse bora. Cognate with Latin forō, Latin feriō and Albanian birë. Sense of wearying may come from a figurative use such as "to bore the ears"; compare German drillen.

Verb

bore (bores, present participle boring; simple past and past participle bored)

  1. (transitive) To inspire boredom in somebody.
    Reading books really bores me; films are much more exciting.
    to bore someone to death
    • 1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act I, scene i], page 206 ↗:
      He bores me with some trick.
    • 1881, Thomas Carlyle, Reminiscences:
      […] used to come and bore me at rare intervals.
  2. (transitive) To make a hole through something.
    • c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act III, scene ii]:
      I'll believe as soon this whole earth may be bored.
  3. (intransitive) To make a hole with, or as if with, a boring instrument; to cut a circular hole by the rotary motion of a tool.
    to bore for water or oil
    An insect bores into a tree.
  4. (transitive) To form or enlarge (something) by means of a boring instrument or apparatus.
    to bore a steam cylinder or a gun barrel; to bore a hole
    • 1862, Thaddeus William Harris, A Treatise on Some of the Insects Injurious to Vegetation:
      short but very powerful jaws, by means whereof the insect can bore […] a cylindrical passage through the most solid wood
  5. (transitive) To make (a passage) by laborious effort, as in boring; to force a narrow and difficult passage through.
    to bore one’s way through a crowd
    • [1716], [John] Gay, “Book III. Of Walking the Streets by Night.”, in Trivia: Or, The Art of Walking the Streets of London, London: […] Bernard Lintott, […], →OCLC ↗, page 79 ↗:
      What bustling crowds I bored.
  6. (intransitive) To be pierced or penetrated by an instrument that cuts as it turns.
    This timber does not bore well.
  7. (intransitive) To glare (as if to drill a hole with the eyes).
    Their eyes bore into my back.
  8. (transitive, sports, slang) To push or drive (a boxer into the ropes, a boat out of its course, etc.).
    • 1824, Pierce Egan, Boxiana; Or, Sketches of Ancient and Modern Pugilism, page 600:
      The right hand of Curtis was open too much ; but he nevertheless had the best of the hitting in this round, till Inglis bored him down, out of the ropes.
    • 1885, Tresham Gilbey, Baily's Magazine of Sports and Pastimes, volume 43, page 107:
      Hanlan, it seems, led at about a mile, when Beach's steamer bored him, and to avoid the danger of being swamped, he put on a violent spurt and drew well clear of Beach, getting some lengths lead.
  9. (intransitive) To push forward in a certain direction with laborious effort.
    • 1697, Virgil, “The Third Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC ↗:
      They take their flight […] boring to the west.
  10. (obsolete) To fool; to trick.
Synonyms Antonyms Related terms Translations Translations Noun

bore (plural bores)

  1. A hole drilled or milled through something, or (by extension) its diameter.
    the bore of a cannon
    • 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “II. Century.”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC ↗, page 53 ↗:
      the bores of wind-instruments
  2. The tunnel inside of a gun's barrel through which the bullet travels when fired, or (by extension) its diameter.
  3. A tool, such as an auger, for making a hole by boring.
  4. A capped well drilled to tap artesian water.
    1. The place where such a well exists.
  5. One who inspires boredom or lack of interest; an uninteresting person.
    My neighbour is such a bore when he talks about his coin collection.
  6. Something dull or uninteresting.
    What a bore that movie was! There was no action, and the dialogue was totally uncreative.
    • 1871, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Passages from the French and Italian Notebooks:
      It is as great a bore as to hear a poet read his own verses.
  7. Calibre; importance.
    • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act IV, scene vi]:
      Yet are they much too light for the bore of the matter.
Synonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations Etymology 2

From Middle English *bore, bare, a borrowing from Old Norse bára, from Proto-Germanic *bērō, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-.

Noun

bore (plural bores)

  1. A sudden and rapid flow of tide occurring in certain rivers and estuaries which rolls up as a wave.
Synonyms Translations
  • French: mascaret
  • German: Gezeitenwelle
  • Italian: flusso anomalo, ondata anomala
Verb
  1. simple past of bear
  2. (colloquial) Past participle of bear
  3. (proscribed) simple past of bare


This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.002
Offline English dictionary