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

to darn

20 5.3
To sew thread across a hole in clothing to fix it
  • verb
  • /dɑrn/
translation icon : 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
99 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
6 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
130 2.7

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

Idioms

darn it
  • Informal
17 8.4

A short phrase people say when they feel frustrated or disappointed

darn tootin'
  • Slang
2 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
219 3.5
to darn
20 5.3
repair
352 2.3
to patch
151 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.