What does outwearing mean?
Outwearing is an uncommon verb meaning chiefly to wear something out through prolonged, repeated, or intensive use. It is especially associated with older literary English, but the idea remains natural today: harsh weather can outwear a coating, constant handling can outwear a glove, and heavy use can outwear a machine. Outwearing can also have the older sense of lasting longer than another person or thing, though modern speakers would normally use “outlast” for that meaning. The word is formed from the prefix “out-” and the verb “wear,” giving it an emphatic quality: it describes deterioration or endurance produced by wearing. Because it is so uncommon, it is most likely to appear in formal or literary prose rather than everyday conversation.
To wear out through prolonged or intensive use.
"The workers' gloves were quickly outworn by the rough material."
Rare and chiefly literary in modern usage; “wear out” is the usual modern alternative.
To last longer than another person or thing.
"The heavier boot outwore the lighter one."
An older sense that is now normally expressed by “outlast.”
A rare old verb with a new job for modern English: saying that something has simply used itself up.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does outwearing come from?
The word combines the prefix “out-” with “wear,” a verb inherited from Old English that has long expressed both the wearing of garments and the exhaustion or deterioration caused by use. The prefix “out-” has Old English roots and commonly contributes the sense of exceeding, surpassing, or carrying beyond a usual limit. The compound developed the modern meaning of wearing out, while an older usage also came to mean lasting longer than something else.
Related word forms
How outwearing is actually used
This is a rare literary or archaic verb. In modern English, “wear out” is more usual for the sense of exhaustion or deterioration, while “outlast” normally expresses the sense of lasting longer.