borer

B3O1R1E1R1
UK/ˈbɔːɹə/Multicultural London English/ˈboːɹɐ/US/ˈbɔːɹɚ/Canada, US/boɹˈɛɹ/

noun

A tool used for drilling.

Less commonScrabble 7

Meanings

borer1

nounborer (plural borers)

plural borers

  1. A tool used for drilling.
  2. Multicultural London EnglishslangA knife fit for a stabbing.

    Synonyms: wetter, jook, jooker, chete, ching, ying, rambo, poker

  3. A person who bores or drills; a person employed to drill bore holes.
  4. A tedious person, who bores others; a bore.

    The boree has been heard from frequently since the Renaissance, and his sentiments have undergone little change. The borer hasn't had much to say for himself.

    1896, Harry Persons Taber, Elbert Hubbard, The Philistine, volume 3, page 21
    1 more example

    Rennie was an expert on boredom, having done a piece on it for Pandora's “Relationships” column in which she claimed that there were two people involved in boredom, not just one: the borer and the boree.

    2012, Margaret Atwood, Bodily Harm
  5. An insect or insect larva that bores into wood.
  6. One of the many types of mollusc that bore into soft rock.
  7. A cyclostome, such as a hagfish, which bores into injured, dead, or decaying sea creatures to feed on their flesh.
  8. biologyThe penetrating root of a parasitic plant.

Borer2

proper nounBorer (plural Borers)

plural Borers

Synonyms & antonyms

More synonyms by meaning

nouna drill for penetrating rock

Similar
bore bitrock drillstone drill
Broader

nounany of various insects or larvae or mollusks that bore into wood

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰerH-
  2. Proto-Germanic*burōną
  3. Proto-West Germanic*borōn
  4. Old Englishborian
  5. Middle Englishboren
  6. Englishbore
  7. Englishborer

From bore + -er.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek τρύπανον
  • τρύπανον (trúpanon)tool
Bulgarian бормашина, дървесен червей
  • бормашина (bormašina)tool
  • дървесен червей (dărvesen červej)a wood boring insect: the larval stage of the Anobium punctatum beetle
  • сондьор (sondjor)person who bores/drills
Finnish kairaaja
  • kairaajaperson who bores/drills
German Bohrmaschine
  • Bohrmaschinetool
Irish tollaire, tolladóir
  • tollairetool
  • tolladóira wood boring insect: the larval stage of the Anobium punctatum beetle
  • tolladóirperson who bores/drills
Italian alesatore
  • alesatoretool
Japanese 木食い虫
  • 木食い虫 (kikuimushi)a wood boring insect: the larval stage of the Anobium punctatum beetle
Latin terebra
  • terebratool
Latvian ķirmis
  • ķirmisa wood boring insect: the larval stage of the Anobium punctatum beetle
Lithuanian urbis
  • urbistool
Māori tākituri, iro poka
  • tākituria wood boring insect: the larval stage of the Anobium punctatum beetle
  • iro pokaa wood boring insect: the larval stage of the Anobium punctatum beetle
  • pātiotiomollusc
Persian مته
  • مته (matte)tool
Portuguese broca
  • brocatool
Romanian mașină de găurit, bormașină
  • mașină de găurittool
  • bormașinătool
Russian бура́в, бур
  • бура́в (buráv)tool
  • бур (bur)tool
  • сверло́ (sverló)tool
  • древото́чец (drevotóčec)a wood boring insect: the larval stage of the Anobium punctatum beetle
  • бури́льщик (burílʹščik)person who bores/drills
  • сверло́вщик (sverlóvščik)person who bores/drills
Swedish borrmaskin, borrare
  • borrmaskintool
  • borrareperson who bores/drills
Ukrainian деревоточець
  • деревоточець (derevotočecʹ)a wood boring insect: the larval stage of the Anobium punctatum beetle
Welsh tyllwr, taradr
  • tyllwrtool
  • taradrtool

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with borer

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

borer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/borer

MLA

“borer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/borer. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “borer,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/borer.

Source: borer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.