The inevitable gradual damage, deterioration, or depreciation resulting from ordinary continuous use.
"The car warranty covers mechanical failure, but not normal wear and tear on brake pads."
"Hiking over rough terrain causes heavy wear and tear on mountain boots."
Individual vocabulary building blocks comprising this expression
Programmatically detected rhetorical, acoustic, and combinatorial properties
Contains acoustic wordplay with constituent words 'wear' and 'tear' sharing identical rhyme tails.
First recorded in legal contracts and estate leases in the 17th century to distinguish natural depreciation from intentional damage.
Explore 64,000+ idioms, proverbs, sayings, maxims, and phrasal verbs with origins and component breakdowns.
Browse All Expressions HubBrowse words starting with, ending in, length cheat sheets, and high-scoring Scrabble plays.
View Word Lists