wear down

listen to the pronunciation of wear down
English - English
To have one's long hair styled in a free, low-hanging, unencumbered style; i.e., not in an up-do or ponytail

For her date, she wore her hair down.

To cause (someone) physical or mental fatigue

The eight hour shift in the mine began to wear Tim down after a few months.

exhaust; win through perseverance
exhaust or tire through overuse or great strain or stress; "We wore ourselves out on this hike"
If you wear something down or if it wears down, it becomes flatter or smoother as a result of constantly rubbing against something else. Pipe smokers sometimes wear down the tips of their teeth where they grip their pipes The machines start to wear down, they don't make as many nuts and bolts as they used to Elephants wear the tusk down faster than they can grow it
If you wear someone down, you make them gradually weaker or less determined until they eventually do what you want. They hoped the waiting and the uncertainty would wear down my resistance He believed that he could wear her down if he only asked often enough
wear down

    Hyphenation

    wear Down

    Turkish pronunciation

    wer daun

    Pronunciation

    /ˈwer ˈdoun/ /ˈwɛr ˈdaʊn/

    Etymology

    [ 'war, 'wer ] (verb.) before 12th century. Middle English weren, from Old English werian; akin to Old Norse verja to clothe, invest, spend, Latin vestis clothing, garment, Greek hennynai to clothe.
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