bore

BOR/boɹ/UKBAW/bɔː(ɹ)/

Verbbores, boring, bored

Noun pluralbores

15 meanings of bore

Practice

1
fail to interestverbtransitive
To cause someone to feel bored or lose interest by being dull.
His endless stories about golf bore everyone at the party.
The lecture bored the students so thoroughly that several fell asleep.
UsageThe person feels bored and the cause is boring: I was bored (not ~~incorrect: I was boring~~). Often bore someone with something.
Similartire, weary
Oppositeinterest, fascinate, entertain, excite
Note
Thomas Carlyle in 1881 recalls a neighbor's young brother who "used to come and bore me."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
Carlyle's recollection was published in 1881. en.wikipedia.org
2
bear (past)verb
Past tense of bear.
The old bridge bore the weight of heavy trucks for decades.
She bore the bad news with quiet dignity.
UsageAfter has, have or had, use borne: she has borne the cost (not ~~incorrect: has bore~~).
3
dull thingnouncountable
A thing or situation that is dull or uninteresting.
The three-hour awards ceremony proved to be a real bore.
Filling out the tax forms every spring is an absolute bore.
UsageCommon with such a, a real and what a: cleaning the garage is such a bore.
Similardrag, chore, yawn, pain
Oppositethrill, delight, treat
Note
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1871) uses the comparative frame, "as great a bore as to hear a poet read his own verses," where the bore is an activity rather than an object. Where the dull person names someone, this names an experience: a ceremony, a chore, a film.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
The Hawthorne work containing the quotation was first published in 1871. archive.org
Hawthorne uses the quoted comparison in Passages from the French and Italian Note-books, describing the activity of viewing pictures in their artists' presence. gutenberg.org
4
dull personnouncountable
A person who makes others feel bored or uninterested.
Her uncle was a notorious bore who repeated the same anecdotes at every gathering.
By the second hour, the guest had revealed himself to be a self-absorbed bore.
Similardrag, windbag
5
verbtransitive
To make a hole in or through something, or form or enlarge a hole or cylinder, with a drill or other boring tool.
Engineers bore holes into the rock to place explosives.
The machine bored a channel through layers of clay and gravel.
UsageThe past is bored: they bored a tunnel. Do not confuse it with bore, the past of bear: she bore the pain.
Similardrill, pierce, tunnel, perforate
Note
The object is whatever is pierced or the opening made. Railway Magazine reported in 1950 that a new tunnel was bored, and Shakespeare's "this whole earth may be bored" shows how long the passive has served it.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Railway Magazine reported in September 1950 that a new tunnel was bored. en.wiktionary.org
The cited Railway Magazine passage uses 'a new tunnel was bored'. en.wiktionary.org
The quoted passive occurs in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act III, scene ii; Hermia speaks the line. folger.edu
6
nouncountable
A hole drilled through an object, especially the hollow inside of a gun barrel or pipe, or the diameter of that hole.
Engineers widened the bore to improve the flow of water.
The cylinder's bore determines how much fuel the engine can burn.
Similarhole, diameter, caliber
Note
The noun names the result of drilling and then its width, so the bore of a cannon can mean either the channel or its measurement. Francis Bacon's Sylva Sylvarum (1626) speaks of the bores of wind instruments. Context decides which meaning is in play: a bore can be cleaned, and it can also be measured.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
The hole sense extends to the hole's diameter. en.wiktionary.org
Sylva Sylvarum has a first-edition title-page date of 1626; copies dated 1627 also exist. crrs.library.utoronto.ca
Francis Bacon's Sylva Sylvarum mentions the bores of wind instruments. en.wiktionary.org

Less common meanings

7
nouncountable
A deep well drilled to reach and draw up underground water, or the place on a property where it is.
The station relies on a deep bore for all its water.
Engineers capped the bore to keep the artesian pressure stable.
Similarborehole, well
8
tide wavenouncountable
A sudden, fast surge of incoming tide that rolls up certain rivers and estuaries as a wave.
Like an ocean tide gathered into a single wave that climbs upstream.
The bore surged up the estuary, lifting moored boats as it passed.
Surfers travel for miles to ride the famous bore on this river.
Note
This is a different word altogether. Tidal bore is the usual full name. H.G. Wells uses it as a simile in The War of the Worlds (1898) for a scalding wave sweeping upstream.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
The War of the Worlds was first published as a book in 1898. en.wikipedia.org
H. G. Wells uses tidal bore as a simile for an almost scalding wave sweeping upstream in The War of the Worlds. gutenberg.org
9
verbtransitive
To force a way or passage through something, or push steadily forward, by hard, laborious effort.
The team had to bore its way through thick jungle, cutting vines as they went.
The worm bored its way through the rotting log.
UsageUsually bore one's way through something: he bored his way through the crowd.
Similartunnel, burrow, force, push
Note
The figurative stretch makes a route the object. John Gay's Trivia (1716) goes further and makes the crowd itself the object: "What bustling crowds I bored." Behind both is the picture of a drill forcing a narrow passage.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
John Gay wrote Trivia. en.wikisource.org
Trivia was first published in 1716. rpo.library.utoronto.ca
Trivia contains the quoted words, with modernized spelling of bor'd; crowds is the verb's object. en.wikisource.org
10
stare hardverbintransitive
To glare so intensely that the gaze seems to drill into its target.
Like a drill biting into wood, except the pressure comes from an angry gaze.
Her eyes seemed to bore into him until he finally looked away and told the truth.
Her furious eyes bored into the back of his neck.
UsageUsually use bore into, with eyes or a stare as the subject. The past is bored: her eyes bored into him.
Similardrill, burn
11
bear (after has)verbnonstandard
Past participle of bear. Nonstandard: standard English uses borne.
He has bore the weight of the family business alone.
We had bore many hardships before things finally improved.
Note
The simple past stands in for the participle after have. Charles Fearne's court-martial minutes (1746) ask whether a ship "could have bore down," and Augustus Earle writes "have bore down" in 1832. Karl Hoffmann and Jennifer Fitzpatrick's 2004 book chapter has "have bore witness."
12
push off courseverbslangtransitive
To push or drive a person or vessel forcibly out of position, such as a boxer into the ropes.
From the opening bell, the heavier fighter tried to bore his opponent back toward the ropes.
Near the finish, the leading crew bored the other boat wide, and the judges called a foul.
Similarpush, drive, force, shove, crowd
Note
This is sporting slang, at home both in the prize ring and on the water. The 1824 volume of Boxiana has one fighter bore another "down, out of the ropes." In Baily's Magazine (1885), a steamer bores Hanlan, who spurts clear to avoid being swamped. The verb implies bodily pressure that shoves a rival out of position, and it belongs to the language of sports reporting rather than everyday talk.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
The sporting sense is attested in boxing and boating. en.wiktionary.org
The 1824 fourth volume was written by Jon Bee, the pseudonym of John Badcock. en.wikipedia.org
Boxiana describes one fighter driving another “down, out of the ropes.” en.wiktionary.org
Baily's Magazine in 1885 describes a steamer boring Hanlan, who spurts clear to avoid being swamped. en.wiktionary.org
13
verbobsolete
To fool or deceive someone.
Note
The trickery meaning has dropped out of use entirely; Shakespeare and Fletcher's "He bores me with some trick" (1613) shows it. A reader who meets bored meaning "fooled" in an older text should read it as deceived rather than wearied.
14
noundated
A tool for drilling holes, such as an auger.
15
nounarchaic
The caliber, quality, or importance of a person or thing.
Yet are they much too light for the bore of the matter.
c. 1599, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”

bore is a form of bear

bear, verb: To have or show something as a visible mark or feature, such as a seal, scar, name, title, appearance, or quality. Full entry

Forms: bearbears he/she/itbearing -ing formbore past tenseborne past participle
Spelling: bear → bore: irregular (no -ed)

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of bore apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1, 3–7, 9–10, 12–13

Old English borian ("to pierce") became Middle English boren, and the word goes back further through Proto-West Germanic and Proto-Germanic. Latin forō ("to bore, pierce") and Albanian birë ("hole") are related. The meaning "to weary" may have grown out of a figurative phrase like "to bore the ears."

Meaning 8

From Middle English *bore or bare, borrowed from Old Norse bára ("billow, wave"), probably from Proto-Germanic *bērō ("that which bears or carries") and ultimately Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ("to bear"). It is a doublet of bier.