bore Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a person who evokes boredom
    dullard.
  2. noun a high wave (often dangerous) caused by tidal flow (as by colliding tidal currents or in a narrow estuary)
    eager; eagre; aegir; tidal bore.
  3. noun diameter of a tube or gun barrel
    caliber; gauge; calibre.
  4. noun a hole or passage made by a drill; usually made for exploratory purposes
    bore-hole; drill hole.
  5. verb cause to be bored
    tire.
  6. verb make a hole, especially with a pointed power or hand tool
    drill.
    • don't drill here, there's a gas pipe
    • drill a hole into the wall
    • drill for oil
    • carpenter bees are boring holes into the wall
  7. verb have
    bear.
    • bear a resemblance
    • bear a signature
  8. verb cause to be born
    have; deliver; birth; bear; give birth.
    • My wife had twins yesterday!
  9. verb put up with something or somebody unpleasant
    stomach; brook; support; put up; tolerate; bear; abide; endure; stick out; suffer; digest; stand.
    • I cannot bear his constant criticism
    • The new secretary had to endure a lot of unprofessional remarks
    • he learned to tolerate the heat
    • She stuck out two years in a miserable marriage
  10. verb move while holding up or supporting
    bear.
    • Bear gifts
    • bear a heavy load
    • bear news
    • bearing orders
  11. verb bring forth, "The apple tree bore delicious apples this year"
    turn out; bear.
    • The unidentified plant bore gorgeous flowers
  12. verb take on as one's own the expenses or debts of another person
    assume; take over; accept; bear.
    • I'll accept the charges
    • She agreed to bear the responsibility
  13. verb contain or hold; have within
    carry; hold; bear; contain.
    • The jar carries wine
    • The canteen holds fresh water
    • This can contains water
  14. verb bring in
    pay; bear; yield.
    • interest-bearing accounts
    • How much does this savings certificate pay annually?
  15. verb have on one's person
    wear; bear.
    • He wore a red ribbon
    • bear a scar
  16. verb behave in a certain manner
    acquit; comport; bear; behave; conduct; carry; deport.
    • She carried herself well
    • he bore himself with dignity
    • They conducted themselves well during these difficult times
  17. verb have rightfully; of rights, titles, and offices
    hold; bear.
    • She bears the title of Duchess
    • He held the governorship for almost a decade
  18. verb support or hold in a certain manner
    carry; hold; bear.
    • She holds her head high
    • He carried himself upright
  19. verb be pregnant with
    carry; gestate; have a bun in the oven; bear; expect.
    • She is bearing his child
    • The are expecting another child in January
    • I am carrying his child

WordNet

Bore transitive verb
Etymology
OE. borien, AS. borian; akin to Icel. bora, Dan. bore, D. boren, OHG. porn, G. bohren, L. forare, Gr. to plow, Zend bar.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Bored present participle & verbal noun Boring
Definitions
  1. To perforate or penetrate, as a solid body, by turning an auger, gimlet, drill, or other instrument; to make a round hole in or through; to pierce; as, to bore a plank.
    I'll believe as soon this whole earth may be bored. Shak.
  2. To form or enlarge by means of a boring instrument or apparatus; as, to bore a steam cylinder or a gun barrel; to bore a hole.
    Short but very powerful jaws, by means whereof the insect can bore, as with a centerbit, a cylindrical passage through the most solid wood. T. W. Harris.
  3. To make (a passage) by laborious effort, as in boring; as, to bore one's way through a crowd; to force a narrow and difficult passage through. "What bustling crowds I bored." Gay.
  4. To weary by tedious iteration or by dullness; to tire; to trouble; to vex; to annoy; to pester.
    He bores me with some trick. Shak.
    Used to come and bore me at rare intervals. Carlyle.
  5. To befool; to trick. Obs.
    I am abused, betrayed; I am laughed at, scorned, Baffled and bored, it seems. Beau. & Fl.
Bore intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To make a hole or perforation with, or as with, a boring instrument; to cut a circular hole by the rotary motion of a tool; as, to bore for water or oil (i. e., to sink a well by boring for water or oil); to bore with a gimlet; to bore into a tree (as insects).
  2. To be pierced or penetrated by an instrument that cuts as it turns; as, this timber does not bore well, or is hard to bore.
  3. To push forward in a certain direction with laborious effort.
    They take their flight . . . boring to the west. Dryden.
  4. (Ma) To shoot out the nose or toss it in the air; said of a horse. Crabb.
Bore noun
Definitions
  1. A hole made by boring; a perforation.
  2. The internal cylindrical cavity of a gun, cannon, pistol, or other firearm, or of a pipe or tube.
    The bores of wind instruments. Bacon.
    Love's counselor should fill the bores of hearing. Shak.
  3. The size of a hole; the interior diameter of a tube or gun barrel; the caliber.
  4. A tool for making a hole by boring, as an auger.
  5. Caliber; importance. Obs.
    Yet are they much too light for the bore of the matter. Shak.
  6. A person or thing that wearies by prolixity or dullness; a tiresome person or affair; any person or thing which causes ennui.
    It is as great a bore as to hear a poet read his own verses. Hawthorne.
Bore noun
Etymology
Icel. bara wave: cf. G. empor upwards, OHG. bor height, burren to lift, perh. allied to AS. beran, E. 1st bear.
Definitions
  1. (Physical Geog.) (a) A tidal flood which regularly or occasionally rushes into certain rivers of peculiar configuration or location, in one or more waves which present a very abrupt front of considerable height, dangerous to shipping, as at the mouth of the Amazon, in South America, the Hoogly and Indus, in India, and the Tsien-tang, in China. (b) Less properly, a very high and rapid tidal flow, when not so abrupt, such as occurs at the Bay of Fundy and in the British Channel.
Bore
Definitions
  1. imp. of 1st & 2d Bear.

Webster 1913