What does threadbare mean?
Word: Threadbare
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Threadbare means worn thin from long use, so that the threads of the cloth show through. It can also describe an excuse or idea that has been used too often.
Synonyms: worn, shabby, frayed, tattered
Antonyms: new, brand-new
How do you spell threadbare?
Syllables: thread - bare
Tricky part: The end sounds like the animal bear, but cloth worn until its threads show is bare, as in bare feet.
Watch out for: threadbear, threadbair
Memory tip: Bare feet, a bare floor, a threadbare towel: all of them are uncovered.
Threadbare in a sentence
Example 1: Grandpa still wears his threadbare woollen shawl every winter.
Example 2: The carpet in the old library was threadbare near the door.
Example 3: His excuse about the bus being late was getting threadbare.
Fun Fact
Geoffrey Chaucer used the word more than 600 years ago in The Canterbury Tales, to describe the worn cloak of a poor Oxford student.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) faded
b) crumpled
c) thredbare
d) patchwork
Show answer
c) thredbare. Threadbare starts with the whole word thread, ea and all.
Word Champ
Choose the correct word for the blank:
A school blazer worn every day for six years, until the cloth is thin at the elbows, is ___.
a) threadbare
b) spotless
c) waterproof
d) plush
Show answer
a) threadbare. Plush means thick and soft, so the worn-out carpet is threadbare.
Word Tally
How many words are misspelt in the given sentence?
The old sofa in the staff room was so threadbare that the teachers finally bought a new cushon cover.
a) 1
b) 0
c) 3
d) 2
Show answer
a) 1. Only cushion is wrong: it needs an i after the sh sound.
Sound Check
In which word is 'are' pronounced differently?
a) threadbare
b) square
c) arena
d) careful
Show answer
c) arena. In arena the letters are run into the next syllable, a-REE-na; the other three say 'air'.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which excuse is most likely to be called threadbare?
a) a brand-new reason
b) one given every single week
c) a note written by a parent
d) a true and simple reason
Show answer
b) one given every single week
2. After years of daily use, which of these might turn threadbare?
a) an old cotton shirt
b) a steel spoon
c) a glass bottle
d) a stone step
Show answer
a) an old cotton shirt
