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boring

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See also: Boring

English

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Etymology

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Etymology tree
Middle English boren
Proto-Germanic *-ungō
Old English -ung
Middle English -ynge
Middle English boryng
English boring

    Inherited from Middle English boryng (“making a hole”). By surface analysis, bore +‎ -ing.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    boring (countable and uncountable, plural borings)

    1. The act or process of boring holes; such practice as an area of expertise in manufacturing.
      • 2008, Hayashi Naotaka, “Prologue”, in Chaos;Head:
        A warm, soft, tender, sweet sensation. It's much like anesthesia– And mysteriously, my trembling gradually starts to lessen. Her faint breaths tickle my cheek. A very sweet scent. I abruptly feel a pressure against my chest. The great sword she carries is tearing the skin of my chest, boring into my flesh, threading through my bones, and steadily sinking its way into my body. Yet, numbed by the anesthesia of the kiss, I no longer feel any pain. Because you kill me like this, so gently– I unexpectedly become anguished. I'm on the verge of crying. To keep her from noticing, I look past her head, up at the dark gray sky that goes on dropping rain on us.
      2. (machining) Enlarging an existing hole with a single-point cutting tool or a boring head (usually with high precision and accuracy regarding the roundness and size of the hole).
        Hypernyms: machining, cutting
        Hyponyms: counterboring, backboring
        Coordinate terms: boring (woodworking sense), reaming, turning, milling, broaching, shaping, planing, grinding
        turning and boring
        fine boring with a boring head on a boring mill
      4. (especially in woodworking) Drilling.
        Hypernym: cutting
        Coordinate terms: boring (machining sense), reaming, turning, milling, planing, sawing, whittling, woodcarving, sanding
      5. (Australia) The act of drilling a well into an artesian basin.
        • 1911, ‘Steel Rudd’, The Book of Dan, Brisbane: University of Queensland Press, published 1970, page 1:
          And Dan indignantly waved his long, brown arm over the plant, which consisted of the engine, the boring apparatus, and a dilapidated spring-cartthat was pulled by a lean, lonely-looking horse[.]
    2. A pit or hole which has been bored.
      • 1992, J. Patrick Powers, Construction dewatering: new methods and applications, page 191:
        It is common in urban areas that a great many borings exist from prior construction work.
    3. (usually in the plural) One of the fragments thrown up when something is bored or drilled.
      Synonyms: chips, swarf (wood, metal, or plastic)
      Hyponyms: shavings (wood, plastic), swarf (metal)
      Coordinate terms: shavings, sawdust (wood)

    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    Verb

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    boring

    1. present participle and gerund of bore

    Derived terms

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    Adjective

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    boring (comparative more boring or boringer, superlative most boring or boringest)

    1. Causing boredom or tiredness; making one feel tired and impatient.
      What a boring film that was! I almost fell asleep.
      • 1956 September, Laura Beheler, chapter 16, in The Paper Dolls, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Company; Cambridge, Mass.: The Riverside Press, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 175:
        “Why don’t you become a Baptist preacher?” she interrupted wearily. He smiled at her briefly. Then, from the way he leaned back, adjusted his glasses, took a quick sip of martini, Ida knew she was in for a speech. Biting hard on her back teeth, she sighed and prepared to listen as little as possible. Suffocating, she mumbled, that’s what he is! And boringer than hell!
      • 1983, Peter De Vries, chapter 13, in Slouching Towards Kalamazoo, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 212:
        Oh, let's not spoil a good dinner with a reconcilation[sic] scene. We’ve hardly split up. We’ll get to be like two old people who can communicate, and nothing’s boringer than that.
      • 2004, Nancy Rue, “Sophie and the Scoundrels (Book 3)”, in Sophie’s Secret (Faithgirlz!; The Sophie Series, 2), Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zonderkidz, →ISBN, pages 125–126:
        “I had the most boring day in life yesterday. I couldn’t go to work with my dad, so I went with my mom.” […] “Mine was even boringer than yours,” Kitty said. She was starting to whine, and she flipped her ponytail. She did both of those things a lot. “I didn’t get to spend that much time with my dad, either, since he’s a pilot.”
      • 2023 February 8, Paul Stephen with Howard Smith, “Elizabeth Line: "It's not job done yet"”, in RAIL, number 976, page 35:
        "We've had some moments in the spotlight, and there will be more to come. But boring is good when operating railways.
    2. (chiefly Manglish) Suffering from boredom; mildly annoyed and restless through having nothing to do.
      Synonym: bored
      I very boring. ― I am very bored.
    3. Used, designed to be used, or able to drill holes.
      boring equipment
      boring snails
    4. Capable of penetrating; piercing.
      • 1963, Arthur Upfield, The Lake Frome Monster, London: Pan Books, published 1969, page 11:
        [H]is remarkably blue eyes had the trick of boring concentration.

    Synonyms

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    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    Anagrams

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    Danish

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    Etymology

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    From bore +‎ -ing.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    boring c (singular definite boringen, plural indefinite boringer)

    1. drill hole
    2. drilling

    Declension

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    Declension of boring
    common
    gender     		singular plural
    indefinite definite indefinite definite
    nominative boring boringen boringer boringerne
    genitive borings boringens boringers boringernes

    Derived terms

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    References

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    Dutch

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    Etymology

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    From boren +‎ -ing.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    boring f (plural boringen, diminutive borinkje n)

    1. drilling
      offshoreboring — offshore drilling
    2. bore of a car's cylinder or canon

    Malay

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    Etymology

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    Borrowed from English boring, from Middle English boryng (“making a hole”).

    Pronunciation

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    Adjective

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    boring (Jawi spelling بوريڠ, comparative lebih boring, superlative paling boring) (colloquial)

    1. Synonym of bosan (“bored”)[1]
      Ko ni dah kenapa? Boring ke? ― What's wrong with you? Are you bored?

    References

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    1. ^ “boring”, in Kamus Dewan [The Institute Dictionary] (in Malay), Fourth edition, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2005, →ISBN

    Further reading

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