wear and tear
To cause physical damage due to ordinary use over timeTo cause (something) physical damage due to ordinary use over time; to wear (down).
» This is just considered normal wear and tear.
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRExamples
16 sentencesThis is just considered normal wear and tear.
This is already showing signs of wear and tear.
This kind of wear and tear happens to carpets.
Meaning
3 senses(transitive)To cause (something) physical damage due to ordinary use over time; to wear (down).
(figuratively, transitive)To cause emotional damage to (someone's feelings, spirit, etc.).
(intransitive)Of a thing: to be caused physical damage due to ordinary use over time.
Origin
The noun is derived from wear (“damage caused by use over time”, noun) + and + tear (“damaThe noun is derived from wear (“damage caused by use over time”, noun) + and + tear (“damage caused by tearing”, noun).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
wears and tears, wearing and tearing, wore and tore, worn and tornirregular · Lesson
| Base form | wear and tear · to wear and tear |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | wears and tears |
| Present participle | wearing and tearing |
| Past simple | wore and tore |
| Past participle | worn and torn |
Tenses
wear and tear · wore and tore · will wear and tear · have worn and tornPoint at a form to see it in a sentence.Tap a form to see it in a sentence.
Lessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.