Bane
/beɪn/
nounBeginner📊CommonGeneral
1 meaning1 question
Definitions
1
A source of great trouble, distress, or annoyance.
/beɪn/
nounnegativeBeginner
General
Something that causes great distress or annoyance.
Pollution is a bane to the environment.
💡 Simply: Something that causes a lot of problems.
More Examples
2
His laziness was the bane of his career.
How It's Used
Literature
"The constant noise was the bane of her existence."
Informal Conversation
"That traffic jam was a real bane this morning."
From Old English *bāna, meaning 'death' or 'murderer'. It's related to words denoting killing or destruction.
Historically, 'bane' had a stronger association with poison and death, reflecting its Old English origins.
Memory tip
Think of it as 'pain' with an extra 'b' for 'big' trouble.
Word Origin
LanguageOld English
Original meaning
"death, murder"
the bane of someone's existence
Common misspellings
bainbanee
Practice
Usage
10%Spoken
90%Written