wear out
SeparableThe object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.
How to say it
Stress the particle, not the verb: wear OUT. Saying “WEAR out” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
Link the R across. American English is rhotic, so the /r/ at the end of “wear” is a real consonant — it moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “wear out” is said “wea-rout”. No /j/ or /w/ glide here; the R does that job itself.
2 meanings
- 1
To use something until it is no longer usable.
- “He wore out three pairs of running shoes that year.”
- “The carpet has worn out by the door.”
Similar: use up
- 2
To exhaust someone.
- “Two hours with the twins wore me out.”
Similar: exhaust, tire out