# bore

Pronunciation: US say "BOR" /boɹ/; UK say "BAW" /bɔː(ɹ)/

## Verb

1. To cause someone to feel bored or lose interest by being dull.
   - Simple: To make someone feel bored because something is dull.
   - _His endless stories about golf bore everyone at the party._
   - _The lecture bored the students so thoroughly that several fell asleep._
2. Past tense of bear. — simple past of bear
   - Simple: Past tense of bear. Use it for the past.
   - _The old bridge bore the weight of heavy trucks for decades._
   - _She bore the bad news with quiet dignity._
5. To make a hole in or through something, or form or enlarge a hole or cylinder, with a drill or other boring tool.
   - Simple: To make a hole in something with a drill or another turning tool.
   - _Engineers bore holes into the rock to place explosives._
   - _The machine bored a channel through layers of clay and gravel._
9. To force a way or passage through something, or push steadily forward, by hard, laborious effort.
   - Simple: To push slowly and with great effort through something, like thick jungle.
   - _The team had to bore its way through thick jungle, cutting vines as they went._
   - _The worm bored its way through the rotting log._
10. To glare so intensely that the gaze seems to drill into its target.
   - Simple: To stare at someone very hard, as if your eyes could make a hole.
   - _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._
11. Past participle of bear. Nonstandard: standard English uses borne. *(nonstandard)* — past participle of bear
   - Simple: Past participle of bear. This nonstandard form is used after has, have, or had, where standard English uses borne.
   - _He has bore the weight of the family business alone._
   - _We had bore many hardships before things finally improved._
12. To push or drive a person or vessel forcibly out of position, such as a boxer into the ropes. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To push a person or boat off course or into a wall.
   - _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._

## Noun

3. A thing or situation that is dull or uninteresting.
   - Simple: A thing or activity that is dull and not interesting.
   - _The three-hour awards ceremony proved to be a real bore._
   - _Filling out the tax forms every spring is an absolute bore._
4. A person who makes others feel bored or uninterested.
   - Simple: A person who makes other people feel bored.
   - _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._
6. A hole drilled through an object, especially the hollow inside of a gun barrel or pipe, or the diameter of that hole.
   - Simple: The hole through something, like the inside of a gun barrel or pipe, or how wide it is.
   - _Engineers widened the bore to improve the flow of water._
   - _The cylinder's bore determines how much fuel the engine can burn._
7. A deep well drilled to reach and draw up underground water, or the place on a property where it is.
   - Simple: A deep hole dug to get water from under the ground, or the place where it is.
   - _The station relies on a deep bore for all its water._
   - _Engineers capped the bore to keep the artesian pressure stable._
8. A sudden, fast surge of incoming tide that rolls up certain rivers and estuaries as a wave.
   - Simple: A large wave that rushes up a river when the tide comes in fast.
   - _The bore surged up the estuary, lifting moored boats as it passed._
   - _Surfers travel for miles to ride the famous bore on this river._

## Verb

13. To fool or deceive someone. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To fool or trick someone.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A tool for drilling holes, such as an auger.
- (noun) The caliber, quality, or importance of a person or thing.

## Origin

**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.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/bore (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).