wear out — make someone exhausted
phrasal verbB2IELTS 6+neutralcommon
To make someone very tired, especially after a lot of activity or effort.
Say it like a native
Textbook The long hike left me utterly fatigued.
Native That hike completely wore me out.
'Wear out' is the natural verb for being worn down by effort; 'fatigued' is formal.
Pattern: wear out (sb) / wear (sb) out
In use
- Looking after three young children all day really wears me out.daily life
- Many students say that preparing for exams can wear them out, especially if they don't take enough breaks.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ The kids wear out me.
✓ The kids wear me out.
With a pronoun, the object goes in the middle: 'wear me out'.
Common collocations
wear out + person— me out, the kids, completely, exhausted
Don't confuse it
Not about objects; this sense is only for people or animals.
Related
- wear out (become unusable) — Another meaning of 'wear out' is 'become unusable'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.