# bore

> English word · Verb · IPA /bɔː(ɹ)/ · frequency rank #7,889

## Definitions
1. To inspire boredom in somebody.
2. To make a hole through something.
3. To make a hole with, or as if with, a boring instrument; to cut a circular hole by the rotary motion of a tool.
4. To form or enlarge (something) by means of a boring instrument or apparatus.
5. To make (a passage) by laborious effort, as in boring; to force a narrow and difficult passage through.
6. To be pierced or penetrated by an instrument that cuts as it turns.
7. To glare (as if to drill a hole with the eyes).
8. To push or drive (a boxer into the ropes, a boat out of its course, etc.).
9. To push forward in a certain direction with laborious effort.
10. To fool; to trick.

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **br** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bore-vs-br)
- **boy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bore-vs-boy)
- **box** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bore-vs-box)
- **bro** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bore-vs-bro)
- **bye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bore-vs-bye)
- **bow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bore-vs-bow)
- **bra** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bore-vs-bra)
- **bot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bore-vs-bot)
- **BRB** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bore-vs-brb)
- **Bri** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bore-vs-bri)
- **bur** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bore-vs-bur)
- **bru** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bore-vs-bru)
- **both** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bore-vs-both)
- **born** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bore-vs-born)
- **boys** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bore-vs-boys)
- **boss** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bore-vs-boss)
- **bowl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bore-vs-bowl)
- **burn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bore-vs-burn)
- **bout** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bore-vs-bout)
- **bury** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bore-vs-bury)

## Common misspellings (4)
`bbore`, `borre`, `broe`, `obre`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/bore