thread·bare

(thrĕd′bâr′)

adj.

1. Having the nap worn down so that the filling or warp threads show through; frayed or shabby: threadbare rugs.

2. Wearing old, shabby clothing.

3. Overused to the point of being worn out; hackneyed: threadbare excuses.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

threadbare

(ˈθrɛdˌbɛə)

adj

1. (of cloth, clothing, etc) having the nap worn off so that the threads are exposed

2. meagre or poor: a threadbare existence.

3. hackneyed: a threadbare argument.

4. wearing threadbare clothes; shabby

ˈthreadˌbareness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

thread•bare

(ˈθrɛdˌbɛər)

adj.

1. having the nap worn off so as to lay bare the threads of the weave, as a fabric or garment.

2. wearing threadbare clothes; shabby or poor.

3. hackneyed; trite; ineffectively stale: threadbare arguments.

4. meager, scanty, or poor: a threadbare account or report.

[1325–75]

thread′bare`ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.	1.	threadbare - repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse; "bromidic sermons"; "his remarks were trite and commonplace"; "hackneyed phrases"; "a stock answer"; "repeating threadbare jokes"; "parroting some timeworn axiom"; "the trite metaphor `hard as nails'" banal, hackneyed, old-hat, stock, timeworn, trite, well-worn, tired, shopworn, commonplace unoriginal - not original; not being or productive of something fresh and unusual; "the manuscript contained unoriginal emendations"; "his life had been unoriginal, conforming completely to the given pattern"- Gwethalyn Graham
	2.	threadbare - having the nap worn away so that the threads show through; "threadbare rugs" worn - affected by wear; damaged by long use; "worn threads on the screw"; "a worn suit"; "the worn pockets on the jacket"

threadbare

adjective

1. shabby, worn, frayed, old, ragged, worn-out, scruffy, tattered, tatty, down at heel She sat cross-legged on a square of threadbare carpet.
shabby new, good, smart, brand-new, well-preserved

2. hackneyed, common, tired, stale, corny (slang), stock, familiar, conventional, stereotyped, commonplace, well-worn, trite, clichéd, overused, cliché-ridden the government's threadbare domestic policies
hackneyed new, different, original, fresh, novel, unusual, unfamiliar, unconventional

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

threadbare

adjective

1. Showing signs of wear and tear or neglect:

bedraggled, broken-down, decaying, decrepit, dilapidated, dingy, down-at-heel, faded, mangy, rundown, scrubby, scruffy, seedy, shabby, shoddy, sleazy, tattered, tatty.

Informal: tacky.

Slang: ratty.

Idioms: all the worse for wear, gone to pot, past cure.

2. Without freshness or appeal because of overuse:

Translations

بالٍ، رَث

obnošenýošumnělý

tyndslidt

snjáîur

eskimişincelmiş

threadbare

[ˈθredbɛəʳ] ADJ [coat, blanket, carpet] → raído, gastado (fig) [argument] → trillado

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

threadbare

[ˈθrɛdbɛə^r] adj [carpet] → râpé(e), élimé(e)

threadbare

adj → abgewetzt, fadenscheinig; clothes also → abgetragen; carpet also → abgelaufen; (fig) argument → fadenscheinig; joke → abgedroschen; idea → veraltet

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

threadbare

[ˈθrɛdˌbɛəʳ] adj (coat, blanket) → logoro/a, consumato/a, liso/a (fig) (argument) → trito/a

thread

(θred) noun

1. a thin strand of cotton, wool, silk etc, especially when used for sewing. a needle and some thread.

2. the spiral ridge around a screw. This screw has a worn thread.

3. the connection between the various events or details (in a story, account etc). I've lost the thread of what he's saying.

verb

1. to pass a thread through. I cannot thread this needle; The child was threading beads.

2. to make (one's way) through. She threaded her way through the crowd.

ˈthreadbare adjective

(of material) worn thin; shabby. a threadbare jacket.