[ noun ] something causing misery or death <noun.state> the bane of my life
Bane \Bane\, v. t. To be the bane of; to ruin. [Obs.] --Fuller.
Bane \Bane\ (b[=a]n), n. [OE. bane destruction, AS. bana murderer; akin to Icel. bani death, murderer, OHG. bana murder, bano murderer, Goth. banja stroke, wound, Gr. foney`s murderer, fo`nos murder, OIr. bath death, benim I strike. [root]31.] 1. That which destroys life, esp. poison of a deadly quality. [Obs. except in combination, as in ratsbane, henbane, etc.]
2. Destruction; death. [Obs.]
The cup of deception spiced and tempered to their bane. --Milton.
3. Any cause of ruin, or lasting injury; harm; woe.
Money, thou bane of bliss, and source of woe. --Herbert.
4. A disease in sheep, commonly termed the {rot}.
Syn: Poison; ruin; destruction; injury; pest.
Administration officials privately concede that the pact doesn't stop Canadian subsidies that are the bane of the natural resource industries, but they point out that companies can still act against Canada under the trade laws.
It is widely expected that the current ratio of eight cinema seats per 1,000 population will improve in the near future. Moreover, the video onslaught, which had become the bane of the business during the 1980s is no longer the menace it used to be.
Companies in the export zones escape the stifling red tape that remains the bane of industry and business.
Consumer activists generally haven't pressed the issue because stricter return rules might be a bane to consumers.
But while the uncertainty and volatility has been a bane for those exchanges tied to the stock market, it's been a boon for exchanges that mainly trade tangible commodities.
Volatile price swings have long been the bane of the aluminum industry.
The system does much to reduce something that's the bane of any big corporation, whether it makes cars or computers: time-consuming and costly turf battles among departments.
The guppylike tui chub, meanwhile, was the bane of the nearby fish hatchery because it carries parasites that prey on trout.
The resemblance was both a boon and a bane.
Any computer conference based in Eastern Europe would be incomplete without endless discussions of software piracy, the bane of this new market.
But the International Monetary Fund, bane of the subsidizers, isn't worried.
He is known for his spontaneous visits to local bars and restaurants that are the bane of his bodyguards.
The Aryan's bane?" The dollar was mostly lower in early European trading today, but gained more than 2 cents against the British pound.