wear out

Name: wear out, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

verb

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“wear out” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English: 8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To cause (something) to become damaged, useless, or ineffective through continued use, especially hard, heavy, or careless use.

Key facts for wear out
Property	Value
Headword	wear out
Language	English
Part of speech	Verb
Letters	8
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “wear out” sits in English frequency

wear out falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for wear out is 8 letters long, classified as a verb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for wear out, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is wear out, spelled W-E-A-R- -O-U-T.

Definition

1
To cause (something) to become damaged, useless, or ineffective through continued use, especially hard, heavy, or careless use.
2
To deteriorate or become unusable or ineffective due to continued use, exposure, or strain.
3
To exhaust; to cause or contribute to another's exhaustion, fatigue, or weariness, as by continued strain or exertion.
4
To become exhausted, tired, fatigued, or weary, as by continued strain or exertion.
5
Of apparel, to display in public.
6
Of a shirt, to not tuck into the pants; to wear in a casual manner.
7
To punish by spanking.

Synonyms

outwear

This word in other languages

desgastar(Español)user(Français)abnutzen(Deutsch)desgastar(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "wear out"?

"wear out" is spelled W-E-A-R- -O-U-T.

What does "wear out" mean?

As a verb, "wear out" means: To cause (something) to become damaged, useless, or ineffective through continued use, especially hard, heavy, or careless use.

What language does "wear out" come from?

"wear out" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “wear out”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is W-E-A-R- -O-U-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.