threadbare
Americanadjective
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having the nap worn off so as to lay bare the threads of the warp and woof, as a fabric, garment, etc.
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wearing threadbare clothes; shabby or poor.
a threadbare old man.
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meager, scanty, or poor.
a threadbare emotional life.
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hackneyed; trite; ineffectively stale.
threadbare arguments.
adjective
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(of cloth, clothing, etc) having the nap worn off so that the threads are exposed
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meagre or poor
a threadbare existence
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hackneyed
a threadbare argument
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wearing threadbare clothes; shabby
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of threadbare
First recorded in 1325–75, threadbare is from the Middle English word thredbare. See thread, bare 1
Explanation
Those jeans you wear every day that have holes in the knees and thin patches in the rear? They're threadbare. Threadbare means "thin from overuse." Furniture, clothing, or a rug is threadbare if the fabric is thin and worn through. If your father tells the same jokes over and over again, you might accuse him of having a threadbare sense of humor. A friend who chooses to live a threadbare lifestyle doesn't have a lot of things, and what they do have is not in the best of shape. When you see this word, picture your childhood stuffed animal with the fur rubbed thin from too much cuddling.
Vocabulary lists containing threadbare
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“She began being grateful for the blankets, the only thing she had — and they were threadbare blankets,” Conniff says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2026
"The farmers are the poorest people in Ivory Coast," he added, showing his threadbare clothes.
From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026
The club were left with a threadbare squad in the summer after Josh Windass and Michael Smith walked away from their contracts.
From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2025
Bringing your whole self to work can leave you threadbare, writes Amanda Goetz.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2025
She saw that she was inadequately dressed against the raw November day in a threadbare cotton dress, ragged little sweater and thin cotton stockings.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.