bore
English edit
Pronunciation edit
- (General American) IPA(key): /bɔɹ/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /bɔː/
- (rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA(key): /bo(ː)ɹ/
- (non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA(key): /boə/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)
- Homophones: boar, Bohr, boor (accents with the pour–poor merger)
Etymology 1 edit
From Middle English boren, from Old English borian (“to pierce”), 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 (“to bore, to pierce”), Latin feriō (“strike, cut”) and Albanian birë (“hole”). Sense of wearying may come from a figurative use such as "to bore the ears"; compare German drillen.
Verb edit
bore (third-person singular simple present bores, present participle boring, simple past and past participle bored)
- (transitive) To inspire boredom in somebody.
- Reading books really bores me, films are much more exciting.
- 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.
- (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.
- 1950 September, “Network News: Watford Tunnel, L.M.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 641:
- On June 8, 1872, the London & North Western Railway obtained powers to quadruple its main line, and a new tunnel was bored for the up and down slow lines.
- (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.
- (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
- (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.
- (intransitive) To be pierced or penetrated by an instrument that cuts as it turns.
- This timber does not bore well.
- (intransitive) To glare (as if to drill a hole with the eyes).
- Their eyes bore into my back.
- (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.
- (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.
- (obsolete) To fool; to trick.
Synonyms edit
- (make a hole through something): see also Thesaurus:make a hole
Antonyms edit
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
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Noun edit
bore (plural bores)
- A hole drilled or milled through something, or (by extension) its diameter.
- the bore of a cannon
- 1631, Francis [Bacon], “II. Century.”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], 3rd edition, London: […] William Rawley; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], page 53, →OCLC:
- the bores of wind-instruments
- The tunnel inside of a gun's barrel through which the bullet travels when fired, or (by extension) its diameter.
- A tool, such as an auger, for making a hole by boring.
- A capped well drilled to tap artesian water.
- The place where such a well exists.
- One who inspires boredom or lack of interest; an uninteresting person.
- My neighbour is such a bore when he talks about his coin collection.
- 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.
- 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 edit
- See also Thesaurus:bore
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
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Etymology 2 edit
From Middle English *bore, bare, a borrowing from Old Norse bára (“billow, wave”), from Proto-Germanic *bērō (“that which bears or carries”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to bear”). Cognate with Icelandic bára (“billow, wave”), Faroese bára (“billow, wave”). Doublet of bier.
Noun edit
bore (plural bores)
- A sudden and rapid flow of tide occurring in certain rivers and estuaries which rolls up as a wave.
- 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 102:
- In another moment a huge wave, like a muddy tidal bore, but almost scaldingly hot, came sweeping round the bend up-stream.
Synonyms edit
Translations edit
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Etymology 3 edit
Verb edit
bore
- simple past of bear
- (colloquial) past participle of bear
- 1746, Charles Fearne, Minutes of the proceedings of a court-martial, aſſembled […] [1], London, page 159:
- Q. When the Fireſhip appeared to be going down towards the Real, do you think that the Dorſetſhire could have bore down in Time, to have covered and aſſiſted her?
- 1834, Augustus Earle, A Narrative of a Nine Months' Residence in New Zealand in 1827 […] [2], pages 345–346:
- […] by altering their course a very little, and easily have bore down abreast of our settlement, without incurring the smallest risk!
- 2006 February 10, Karl F. Hoffman, Jennifer M. Fitzpatrick, “The Application of DNA Microarrays in the Functional Study of Schisostome/Host Biology”, in W. Evan Secor, Daniel G. Colley, editors, Schistosomiasis, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 101:
- The end of the 20th century and the start of the new millennium have bore witness to a remarkable revolution in the way parasite/host biological interactions can be conceptually designed and experimentally studied.
- (proscribed) simple past of bare
Anagrams edit
Cornish edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Welsh bore. Cognate with Breton beure, Old Irish báireach and Old Irish bárach, whence i mbáireach and i mbárach (“tomorrow”), modern Irish amáireach (Munster, Connaught) and Irish amárach (Donegal).
Noun edit
bore m
Mutation edit
Czech edit
Etymology 1 edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
bore
Etymology 2 edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
bore
References edit
Anagrams edit
Dutch edit
Pronunciation edit
Audio (file)
Verb edit
bore
Anagrams edit
French edit
Etymology edit
Coined by Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac and Louis Jacques Thénard in 1808, from the same root but independently of English boron.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
bore m (uncountable)
Further reading edit
- “bore”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams edit
Middle English edit
Etymology 1 edit
A back-formation from boren; reinforced by Old Norse bora.
Alternative forms edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
bore (plural bores)
- A bore, hole, puncture or indentation.
- A gap, cavity or piercing.
- (rare, euphemistic) The anus; the asshole.
Descendants edit
References edit
- “bōre, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-22.
Etymology 2 edit
Verb edit
bore
- Alternative form of boryn
Etymology 3 edit
Noun edit
bore
- Alternative form of bor
Norwegian Bokmål edit
Etymology edit
Verb edit
bore (imperative bor, present tense borer, simple past and past participle bora or boret, present participle borende)
Derived terms edit
References edit
- “bore” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk edit
Verb edit
bore
- past participle of bera
Welsh edit
Etymology edit
From Middle Welsh bore, from Proto-Brythonic *bọreɣ, from Proto-Celtic *bāregos (“morning”). Cognate with Breton beure and Old Irish bárach (whence i mbárach (“tomorrow”), modern Irish amáireach and amárach).
Pronunciation edit
- (North Wales, standard, colloquial) IPA(key): /ˈbɔrɛ/
- (North Wales, colloquial) IPA(key): /ˈbɔra/
- (South Wales) IPA(key): /ˈboːrɛ/, /ˈbɔrɛ/
Audio (file)
Noun edit
bore m (plural boreau)
Derived terms edit
- bore da (“good morning”)
- bore gwyn (“early morning”)
- bore coffi (“coffee morning”)
Related terms edit
Mutation edit
Welsh mutation | |||
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radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
bore | fore | more | unchanged |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |