wear

[wair]

verb (used with object)

wore, worn, wearing. 

1. to carry or have on the body or about the person as a covering, equipment, ornament, or the like.

   to wear a coat;

   to wear a saber;

   to wear a disguise.

2. to have or use on the person habitually.

   to wear a wig.

3. to bear or have in one's aspect or appearance.

   to wear a smile;

   to wear an air of triumph.

4. to cause (garments, linens, etc.) to deteriorate or change by wear.

   Hard use has worn these gloves.

5. to impair, deteriorate, or consume gradually by use or any continued process.

   Long illness had worn the bloom from her cheeks.

6. to waste or diminish gradually by rubbing, scraping, washing, etc..

   The waves have worn these rocks.

7. to make (a hole, channel, way, etc.) by such action.

8. to bring about or cause a specified condition in (a person or thing) by use, deterioration, or gradual change.

   You'll wear that outfit to rags if you don't take better care of it.

   Years of hard labor had worn him to a shadow.

9. to weary; fatigue; exhaust.

   Toil and care soon wear the spirit.

10. to pass (time) gradually or tediously (usually followed by away orout ).

    We wore the afternoon away in arguing.

11. Nautical.,  to bring (a vessel) on another tack by turning until the wind is on the stern.

12. British Dialect.,  to gather and herd (sheep or cattle) to a pen or pasture.

verb (used without object)

wore, worn, wearing. 

1. to undergo gradual impairment, diminution, reduction, etc., from wear, use, attrition, or other causes (often followed by away, down, out, oroff ).

2. to retain shape, color, usefulness, value, etc., under wear, use, or any continued strain.

   a strong material that will wear;

   colors that wear well.

3. (of time) to pass, especially slowly or tediously (often followed by on oraway ).

   As the day wore on, we had less and less to talk about.

4. to have the quality of being easy or difficult to tolerate, especially after a relatively long association.

   It's hard to get to know him, but he wears well.

5. Nautical.,  (of a vessel) to come round on another tack by turning away from the wind.

6. Obsolete.,  to be commonly worn; to be in fashion.

noun

1. the act of wearing; use, as of a garment.

   articles for winter wear;

   I've had a lot of wear out of this coat.

   I had to throw away the shirt after only three wears.

2. the state of being worn, as on the person.

3. clothing or other articles for wearing; especially when fashionable or appropriate for a particular function (often used in combination).

   travel wear;

   sportswear.

4. gradual impairment, wasting, diminution, etc., as from use.

   The carpet shows wear.

5. the quality of resisting deterioration with use; durability.

verb phrase

1. wear out.,  wear out.

2. wear off,  to diminish slowly or gradually or to diminish in effect; disappear.

   The drug began to wear off.

3. wear down

   1. to reduce or impair by long wearing.

      to wear down the heels of one's shoes.

   2. to weary; tire.

      His constant talking wears me down.

   3. to prevail by persistence; overcome.

      to wear down the opposition.

wear

¹

/ wɛə /

verb

1. (tr) to carry or have (a garment, etc) on one's person as clothing, ornament, etc

2. (tr) to carry or have on one's person habitually

   she wears a lot of red

3. (tr) to have in one's aspect

   to wear a smile

4. (tr) to display, show, or fly

   a ship wears its colours

5. to deteriorate or cause to deteriorate by constant use or action

6. to produce or be produced by constant rubbing, scraping, etc

   to wear a hole in one's trousers

7. to bring or be brought to a specified condition by constant use or action

   to wear a tyre to shreds

8. (intr) to submit to constant use or action in a specified way

   his suit wears well

9. (tr) to harass or weaken

10. (of time) to pass or be passed slowly

11. slang,  (tr) to accept

    Larry won't wear that argument

12. to change the tack of a sailing vessel, esp a square-rigger, by coming about so that the wind passes astern

noun

1. the act of wearing or state of being worn

2. 1. anything designed to be worn

      leisure wear

   2. ( in combination )

      nightwear

3. deterioration from constant or normal use or action

4. the quality of resisting the effects of constant use

Wear

²

/ wɪə /

noun

1. a river in NE England, rising in NW Durham and flowing southeast then northeast to the North Sea at Sunderland. Length: 105 km (65 miles)

wear

³

/ wɛə /

verb

1. nautical to tack by gybing instead of by going through stays

Other Word Forms

• wearer noun
• rewear verb

Word History and Origins

Origin of wear¹

First recorded before 900; (verb) Middle English weren “to have (clothes) on the body, waste, damage, suffer waste or damage,” Old English werian; cognate with Old Norse verja, Gothic wasjan “to clothe”; (noun) late Middle English were “act of carrying on the body,” derivative of the verb; akin to Latin vestis clothing ( vest )

Word History and Origins

Origin of wear¹

Old English werian; related to Old High German werien, Old Norse verja, Gothic vasjan

Origin of wear²

C17: from earlier weare, of unknown origin

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. wear thin,

   1. to diminish; weaken.

      My patience is wearing thin.

   2. to become less appealing, interesting, tolerable, etc..

      childish antics that soon wore thin.

More idioms and phrases containing wear

• hair shirt, wear a
• if the shoe fits, wear it
• none the worse for (wear)
• worse for wear

Example Sentences

In his Senate hearing Kennedy said the CDC had lied to Americans in the pandemic about mask wearing, social distancing and the ability of the vaccine to stop the transmission of coronavirus.

From BBC

The most important thing you can do when choosing a sunscreen, she says, is actually wear enough of it – a full teaspoon at least for each part of your body, face included.

From BBC

That coveted position belonged to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the man who wears at least four hats in the current administration.

From Salon

His kids had grown up wearing cardinal and gold.

From Los Angeles Times

On the eve of the wedding, she was photographed wearing the most fashionable garment of the 1960s: the miniskirt.

From BBC

Related Words

• bear 
• carry 
• cover 
• display 
• don 
• get into 
• get on 
• put on 
• show 
• slip on 
• sport 
• wrap