Meanings
borer1
plural borers
- A tool used for drilling.
- A person who bores or drills; a person employed to drill bore holes.
- 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 211 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 - One of the many types of mollusc that bore into soft rock.
- A cyclostome, such as a hagfish, which bores into injured, dead, or decaying sea creatures to feed on their flesh.
- biologyThe penetrating root of a parasitic plant.
Borer2
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA knife fit for a stabbing.
More synonyms by meaning
nounany of various insects or larvae or mollusks that bore into wood
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰerH-
- Proto-Germanic*burōną
- Proto-West Germanic*borōn
- Old Englishborian
- Middle Englishboren
- Englishbore
- Englishborer
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
borer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/borer
“borer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/borer. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “borer,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/borer.
Source: borer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.