MOTH-EATEN


Meaning of MOTH-EATEN in English

ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ adjective

1.

a. : eaten into by moths

moth-eaten cloth

b. : having the appearance of something eaten into by moths

a moth-eaten horse ready for the glue factory — C.V.Little

: patchy , raggedy , unkempt

a little man … with moth-eaten hair — W.A.White

2.

a. : dilapidated

the town had one moth-eaten old museum — C.W.Thayer

a lot of moth-eaten barges — John Buchan

b. : antiquated , outmoded

the moth-eaten motto of some of the … aristocracy — W.H.Stevenson

moth-eaten … theories about race — Dwight Macdonald

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.