moth-eaten


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia.
Related to moth-eaten: Moth Eaten Bone

moth-eat·en

(môth′ēt′n, mŏth′-)
adj.
1. Eaten away by moth larvae.
2. Old and timeworn: a moth-eaten phrase.
3. Shabby; decrepit.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

moth-eaten

adj
1. decayed, decrepit, or outdated
2. eaten away by or as if by moths
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

moth′-eat`en



adj.
1. eaten or damaged by or as if by the larvae of moths.
2. decayed or worn-out.
3. out of fashion.
[1350–1400]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.moth-eaten - showing signs of wear and tear; "a ratty old overcoat"; "shabby furniture"; "an old house with dirty windows and tatty curtains"
shabby, tatty, ratty
worn - affected by wear; damaged by long use; "worn threads on the screw"; "a worn suit"; "the worn pockets on the jacket"
2.moth-eaten - worn or eaten away by (or as if by) moths; "moth-eaten blankets"
mothy
worn - affected by wear; damaged by long use; "worn threads on the screw"; "a worn suit"; "the worn pockets on the jacket"
3.moth-eaten - lacking originality or spontaneity; no longer new; "moth-eaten theories about race"; "stale news"
dusty, stale, cold
unoriginal - not original; not being or productive of something fresh and unusual; "the manuscript contained unoriginal emendations"; "his life had been unoriginal, conforming completely to the given pattern"- Gwethalyn Graham
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

moth-eaten

adjective decayed, ragged, shabby, worn-out, seedy, dilapidated, tattered, threadbare, decrepit, grungy (slang, chiefly U.S. & Canad.), outworn, scuzzy (slang, chiefly U.S.) a moth-eaten leopardskin jacket
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations

moth-eaten

[ˈmɒθˌiːtn] ADJ → apolillado
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

moth-eaten

[ˈmɒθˌiːtn] adj → tarmato/a
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

moth

(moθ) – plural moths (moθs) (American) (mo:ðz) – noun
1. any of a large number of insects, rather like butterflies but with wider bodies, seen mostly at night and attracted by light.
2. a clothes moth. The moths have been at my evening dress.
clothes moth
a type of moth whose larva feeds on cloth and makes holes.
ˈmothball noun
a small ball of a chemical used to protect clothes from clothes moths.
ˈmoth-eaten adjective
(of cloth) eaten by moths. a moth-eaten blanket.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
Mentioned in ?
References in classic literature ?
It was attached to a moth-eaten sash of thick-woven crimson silk from which hung heavy silk tassels.
View in context
At eight o'clock the next evening Aunt Ellen took a quaint old gold ring from a moth-eaten case and gave it to Richard.
View in context
His getting on his box, which I remember to have been decorated with an old weather-stained pea-green hammercloth moth-eaten into rags, was quite a work of time.
View in context
They found a little hat of soft brown plush, but it was entirely moth-eaten. Felicite asked for it.
View in context
I saw something like them in Hampton Court, but they were worn and frayed and moth-eaten. But still in none of the rooms is there a mirror.
View in context
"There is a crimson curtain in a trunk above stairs,--a little faded and moth-eaten, I'm afraid,--but Phoebe and I will do wonders with it."
View in context
Growling horribly, a huge lion stood across the body of his prey--such a creature as no Pan-American of the twenty-second century had ever beheld until my eyes rested upon this lordly specimen of "the king of beasts." But what a different creature was this fierce-eyed demon, palpitating with life and vigor, glossy of coat, alert, growling, magnificent, from the dingy, moth-eaten replicas beneath their glass cases in the stuffy halls of our public museums.
View in context
In a preposterous coat, like a beadle's, with cuffs and flaps exaggerated to an unspeakable extent; in an immense waistcoat, knee-breeches, buckled shoes, and a mad cocked hat; with nothing fitting him, and everything of coarse material, moth-eaten and full of holes; with seams in his black face, where fear and heat had started through the greasy composition daubed all over it; anything so grimly, detestably, ridiculously shameful as the whelp in his comic livery, Mr.
View in context
He found old moth-eaten garments all in rags and tatters, or Peter would have put them on.
View in context
They had hurried on because they were anxious to bring the spoils of the chase to Simla ere the skins grew moth-eaten. They bore a general letter of introduction (the Babu salaamed to it orientally) to all Government officials.
View in context
However, oddly smirking deer, pop-eyed perch, scary-looking ducks and moth-eaten bearskin rugs inhabit the opposite end of the universe from the incredible animal creations we saw in the Springfield Convention Center.
NOT YOUR DADDY'S STUFFED FISH
Banish all thoughts of moth-eaten blouses, second hand doesn't mean retro.
clothes shouldn't cost the earth

Dictionary browser ?
Full browser ?