bore

/bɔər/

/bɔ/

Other forms: bored; boring; bores

If your friends fall asleep every time you open your mouth, you might be a bore — someone who makes the people around them bored.

In 1738, Voltaire wisely wrote, “The secret of being a bore is to tell everything.” But the word bore is less boring than you think, since it can function as both noun and verb. You can bore a hole into something by drilling through it with a tool, and you can also bore people by being excessively dull, repetitive, or tedious to be around. And don't forget the bore of a needle or gun barrel, which is the same as its diameter.

Definitions of bore

1. verb

   make a hole, especially with a pointed power or hand tool
   “carpenter bees are boring holes into the wall”

   synonyms: drill

   types:

   spud

   initiate drilling operations, as for petroleum

   counter-drill

   drill in an opposite direction

   trepan

   cut a hole with a trepan, as in surgery

   type of:

   cut

   separate with or as if with an instrument
2. noun

   a hole or passage made by a drill; usually made for exploratory purposes
   synonyms: bore-hole, drill hole

   types:

   shot hole

   drill hole for a charge of an explosive

   type of:

   excavation

   a hole in the ground made by excavating
3. noun

   diameter of a tube or gun barrel
   synonyms: caliber, calibre, gauge

   type of:

   diam, diameter

   the length of a straight line passing through the center of a circle and connecting two points on the circumference
4. verb

   cause to be bored
   synonyms: tire

   antonyms:

   interest

   excite the curiosity of; engage the interest of
5. noun

   a person who evokes boredom
   synonyms: dullard

   types:

   gasbag, windbag

   a boring person who talks a great deal about uninteresting topics

   nudnick, nudnik

   (Yiddish) someone who is a boring pest

   platitudinarian

   a bore who makes excessive use of platitudes

   stuffed shirt

   a bore who is extremely formal, pompous, and old-fashioned

   type of:

   disagreeable person, unpleasant person

   a person who is not pleasant or agreeable
6. noun

   a high wave (often dangerous) caused by tidal flow (as by colliding tidal currents or in a narrow estuary)
   synonyms: aegir, eager, eagre, tidal bore

   type of:

   tidal current, tidal flow

   the water current caused by the tides