worse for wear

Idioms and Phrases

Also, the worse for the wear . In poor physical condition owing to long use; also, drunk. For example, This television set is really worse for the wear; we'll have to replace it , or He'd better not drive home; he's definitely the worse for the wear . [c. a.d. 1000] For an antonym, see none the worse for .

Example Sentences

"We were a little worse for wear by the time we got to Belgium."

From BBC

England fans are feeling worse for wear this morning as the Three Lions come home without football after their 2-1 defeat in the Euro 2024 final against Spain.

From BBC

The fossil looks like a lumpy, rounded rock with a couple of exposed teeth that are a little worse for wear, having been submerged and tumbled along the floor of the Gulf of Mexico for thousands of years before washing up on a beach.

From Science Daily

Dental exams on captured or deceased otters also found tool-using otters had relatively little tooth damage, whereas the teeth of their less handy brethren were much worse for wear.

From Science Magazine

Compared with control samples, the samples that got the aging treatment emerged looking the worse for wear.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• crummy
• decaying
• decrepit
• desolate
• dilapidated
• dingy
• pitiful
• ramshackle
• ratty
• rickety
• run down
• scruffy
• seedy
• shoddy
• squalid
• tacky
• tattered
• threadbare
• worn