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Glite Dictionary
😠 Mild annoyance 💸 A worthless thing 🧵 To mend fabric 🧦 A fabric repair
to darn

to darn

3 5.3
To sew thread across a hole in clothing to fix it
  • verb
  • /dɑrn/
: zurcir
  • Mother was humming as she was darning Maggie's stockings for the third time this month.
  • darn socks
  • darn stockings

Examples

  • She'd just darn them and wear them forever.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Red is darning a sock in his open cell.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • His mother looked like the sort who would be only too glad to darn her boy's socks.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • We used to sit here while she'd darn socks and tell us stories.

    Hook (1991)

  • When their clothes wore out, they darned and patched until the fabric couldn't hold new thread.

    Blog text (12)

  • Her work must be knitting, or embroidering, or crochet work; perhaps she darns socks.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • She learns to darn holes in her sweaters to make them last longer.

  • After washing her socks, she always takes time to darn any small holes.

  • He sat quietly in the corner, darning his favorite pair of knitted socks.

Synonyms

to stitch
vsto darn
79 2.5

To join or repair cloth with a needle and thread

focuses on fixing holes in knitted material by weaving yarn across gaps
to stitch up
vsto darn
22 3.9

To sew a hole or loose edge to make clothing whole again

focuses on repairing holes in knitted fabric by weaving yarn across gaps

Antonyms

to destroy
∞ 1.0

Damage something so badly that it cannot be used or fixed

to discard
100 2.7

To throw something away because you no longer want or need it

Idioms

darn it
  • Informal
30 8.4

A short phrase people say when they feel frustrated or disappointed

darn tootin'
  • Slang
4 9.9

A phrase you say when you strongly agree or feel sure

Phrasal Verbs

to let out a darn
  • Informal
8.9

Say darn when you feel frustrated or annoyed

How Well

to restore
261 3.5
to darn
3 5.3
repair
371 2.3
to patch
127 2.5

Surface Forms

darn infinitive
darned past
darned past participle
darning present participle
darns third person singular

Etymology

Darn as a verb names the action of mending a hole by weaving yarn or thread back and forth, much like re-making the cloth where it is broken. So to darn is to mend fabric by sewing across a gap.