threadbare

UK: /ˈθrɛdbɛə^r/ US: /ˈθrɛdˌbɛr/ ,(thred′bâr′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

thread•bare /ˈθrɛdˌbɛr/   adj. 

1. having the top, as of a fabric, worn off so that the threads of the weave lay bare:
   a threadbare jacket.
2. wearing threadbare clothes;
   shabby or poor.
3. not having enough of something needed;
   meager:
   That threadbare account of his told us too little of what was happening.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

thread•bare  (thred′bâr′), adj. 

1. having the nap worn off so as to lay bare the threads of the warp and woof, as a fabric, garment, etc.
2. wearing threadbare clothes;
   shabby or poor:
   a threadbare old man.
3. meager, scanty, or poor:
   a threadbare emotional life.
4. hackneyed;
   trite;
   ineffectively stale:
   threadbare arguments.

• Middle English thredbare. See thread, bare¹ 1325–75

thread′bare′ness, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

threadbare / ˈθrɛdˌbɛə/ adjective

1. (of cloth, clothing, etc) having the nap worn off so that the threads are exposed
2. meagre or poor
3. hackneyed: a threadbare argument
4. wearing threadbare clothes; shabby