wear
verb (used with object)
to carry or have on the body or about the person as a covering, equipment, ornament, or the like.
wear
American
[wair]
/ wɛər /
verb (used with object)
-
wears,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wore,
past
-
worn,
past participle
-
wearing
present participle
-
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.
-
to have or use on the person habitually.
to wear a wig.
-
to bear or have in one's aspect or appearance.
to wear a smile;
to wear an air of triumph.
-
to cause (garments, linens, etc.) to deteriorate or change by wear.
Hard use has worn these gloves.
-
to impair, deteriorate, or consume gradually by use or any continued process.
Long illness had worn the bloom from her cheeks.
-
to waste or diminish gradually by rubbing, scraping, washing, etc..
The waves have worn these rocks.
-
to make (a hole, channel, way, etc.) by such action.
-
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.
-
to weary; fatigue; exhaust.
Toil and care soon wear the spirit.
-
to pass (time) gradually or tediously (usually followed by away orout ).
We wore the afternoon away in arguing.
-
Nautical. to bring (a vessel) on another tack by turning until the wind is on the stern.
-
British Dialect. to gather and herd (sheep or cattle) to a pen or pasture.
verb (used without object)
-
wears,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wore,
past
-
worn,
past participle
-
wearing
present participle
-
to undergo gradual impairment, diminution, reduction, etc., from wear, use, attrition, or other causes (often followed by away, down, out, oroff ).
-
to retain shape, color, usefulness, value, etc., under wear, use, or any continued strain.
a strong material that will wear;
colors that wear well.
-
(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.
-
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.
-
Nautical. (of a vessel) to come round on another tack by turning away from the wind.
-
Obsolete. to be commonly worn; to be in fashion.
noun
-
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.
-
the state of being worn, as on the person.
-
clothing or other articles for wearing; especially when fashionable or appropriate for a particular function (often used in combination).
travel wear;
sportswear.
-
gradual impairment, wasting, diminution, etc., as from use.
The carpet shows wear.
-
the quality of resisting deterioration with use; durability.
verb phrase
idioms
wear
1
British
/ wɛə /
verb
-
(tr) to carry or have (a garment, etc) on one's person as clothing, ornament, etc
-
(tr) to carry or have on one's person habitually
she wears a lot of red
-
(tr) to have in one's aspect
to wear a smile
-
(tr) to display, show, or fly
a ship wears its colours
-
to deteriorate or cause to deteriorate by constant use or action
-
to produce or be produced by constant rubbing, scraping, etc
to wear a hole in one's trousers
-
to bring or be brought to a specified condition by constant use or action
to wear a tyre to shreds
-
(intr) to submit to constant use or action in a specified way
his suit wears well
-
(tr) to harass or weaken
-
(of time) to pass or be passed slowly
-
slang (tr) to accept
Larry won't wear that argument
-
to change the tack of a sailing vessel, esp a square-rigger, by coming about so that the wind passes astern
noun
-
the act of wearing or state of being worn
-
-
anything designed to be worn
leisure wear
-
( in combination )
nightwear
-
-
deterioration from constant or normal use or action
-
the quality of resisting the effects of constant use
Wear
2
British
/ wɪə /
noun
wear
3
British
/ wɛə /
verb
wear
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
wearsimple
-
wearssimple
-
have wornperfect
-
has wornperfect
-
am wearingprogressive
-
are wearingprogressive
-
is wearingprogressive
-
have been wearingperfect progressive
-
has been wearingperfect progressive
Past
-
woresimple
-
had wornperfect
-
was wearingprogressive
-
were wearingprogressive
-
had been wearingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wear
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 ( see vest)
Explanation
To wear means to clothe, or be covered by. You wear suits to interviews and sweats to the gym. Wear is used to talk about the things we wear on our body, like clothes or jewelry. We even say that people wear their feelings. If someone tells you you’re wearing your heart on your sleeve, it’s totally obvious what you’re feeling. We also use wear to talk about deterioration over time. If you walk a lot, you will wear out your shoes faster. If you chatter on and on, your listener’s patience will wear thin.
Vocabulary lists containing wear
"The Road Not Taken"
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Spelling Practice, Unit 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
At venues in Coventry at least, the glitterati wear whiskers these days.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
If you would feel underdressed, you have your answer: Don’t wear it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Make it brilliant white, with gold piping and epaulets, and I guarantee he’d wear it.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026
Equipment would also wear down, break, and eventually need to be replaced.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
I wear two shirts beneath my sack jacket.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Sophie K co-hosts the On Wednesdays We Wear Black podcast with Yasmine Summan which gives a platform to under-represented voices in rock and metal.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
According to Women’s Wear Daily, Emma Chamberlain’s Met Gala dress took 40 hours to paint and four days to dry.
From Salon ● May 5, 2026
It rained throughout the fall and into winter, and poppies need at least seven inches of rain to make a good showing, said Lori Wear, an interpreter at the reserve.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
His early movies, including “Good Guys Wear Black” and “A Force of One,” began to establish his credentials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
“Is it Formal Wear Day at the arts center?”
From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway
She begins the episode in denim-on-denim with a shirt and tie at an event, then wears coveralls on a date.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Since then, he often wears a Panama hat.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
In the book, Kip loves the English and the West — so much so that he sings their songs and wears their clothes.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
Dentine is the softer layer beneath enamel, and it can become exposed when enamel wears away or gums recede.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026
He wears an apricot bow tie which, by my estimation, makes him very approachable.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Zendaya recently wore an enormous white winged creation from the label to the premiere of “The Odyssey,” styled by longtime collaborator Law Roach.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
Turkish club Fenerbahce's new away shirt is inspired by the first kit the club ever wore when they were founded in 1907.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
They also wore sensors that automatically measured when they were physically close to other team members and how long those encounters lasted.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
Actor and Tibetan activist Richard Gere headlined an hourslong Times Square rally on Saturday honoring Lobga where many wore T-shirts depicting him as a martyr surrounded by flames.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
My eyes drifted to the woman, who wore a plain indigo tunic with knots, her graying hair drawn back in a tight bun.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Kylie Jenner has even worn the brand in a Dunkin’ campaign.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
Their new away kit uses diamond graphics synonymous with Adidas kits from that decade, including the strips worn by the French side themselves between 1994-96.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
Fulham's away shirt is a reinterpretation of an iconic chequered jersey worn 30 years ago during the 1996-97 season.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
In 1996-97, Grimsby Town played in an away kit that was almost identical to one worn by the likes of Roberto Baggio, George Weah and Paolo Maldini at AC Milan.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
I noted that Calvin and Sid looked enormously pleased with themselves, a look I’d worn on more than one occasion when I won a sim test.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
“Nobody was wearing yoga pants. It was very elegant,” said Buchanan, who lives in Fort Worth, Texas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
On the shuttle bus I rode last week, I met Tsutomu and Sayuri Ichikawa, a couple from Tokyo wearing his and hers Roki Sasaki jerseys.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
I spent 10 hair-pulling minutes just figuring out how to change the Cirqa’s wearing location from “wrist” to “arm.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
She estimated there were at least 200 protesters, many of them youths wearing hoodies.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
I’m wearing an oversize shirt with the salon’s logo on it.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
