bore

verb

/bɔː(r)/

/bɔːr/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they bore	/bɔː(r)/ /bɔːr/
he / she / it bores	/bɔːz/ /bɔːrz/
past simple bored	/bɔːd/ /bɔːrd/
past participle bored	/bɔːd/ /bɔːrd/
-ing form boring	/ˈbɔːrɪŋ/ /ˈbɔːrɪŋ/

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[transitive] to make somebody feel bored, especially by talking too much
- bore somebody I'm not boring you, am I?
- bore somebody with something Has he been boring you with his stories about his trip?
Extra Examples
- I won't bore you with too many details.
- I'm very easily bored.
- That lecture bored me to tears!
- He was a restless child and easily bored.
Topics Feelingsc1
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- easily
preposition
- with
phrases
- bore somebody rigid
- bore somebody silly
- bore somebody stiff
- …
See full entry
[intransitive, transitive] to make a long deep hole with a tool or by digging
- bore into/through something The drill is strong enough to bore through solid rock.
- bore something (in/through something) to bore a hole in something
[intransitive] bore into somebody/something (of eyes) to stare in a way that makes somebody feel uncomfortable
- His blue eyes seemed to bore into her.
past tense of bear

Word Originverb senses 2 to 3 Old English borian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to German bohren. verb sense 1 mid 18th cent. (as a verb): of unknown origin.

bore

noun

/bɔː(r)/

/bɔːr/

Idioms

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[countable] a person who is very boring, usually because they talk too muchTopics Feelingsc1
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- awful
- crashing
- dreadful
- …
phrases
- a bit of a bore
See full entry
[singular] a situation or thing that is boring or that annoys you
- It's such a bore having to stay late this evening.
- It’s a real bore having to meet my aunt for lunch.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- real
- terrible
See full entry
[countable]
(also gauge especially in North American English)
the hollow inside of a tube, such as a pipe or a gun; the measurement from one side of the hole to the other
- a tube with a wide/narrow bore
- a twelve-bore shotgun
[countable] a strong, high wave that rushes along a river from the sea at particular times of the yearTopics Geographyc2
[countable]
(also borehole)
a deep hole made in the ground, especially to find water or oil

Word Originnoun sense 3 and noun sense 5 Old English borian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to German bohren. noun senses 1 to 2 mid 18th cent. (as a verb): of unknown origin. noun sense 4 early 17th cent.: perhaps from Old Norse bára ‘wave’; the term was used in the general sense ‘billow, wave’ in Middle English.

Idioms

a crashing bore

(old-fashioned, British English) a very boring person, activity, event or subject