ware

[ wair ]

See synonyms for: ware wares on Thesaurus.com

noun

Usually wares .
- articles of merchandise or manufacture; goods: a peddler selling his wares.
- any intangible items, as services or products of artistic or intellectual creativity, that are salable: an actor advertising his wares.
a specified kind or class of merchandise or of manufactured article (usually used in combination): silverware;glassware.: See also -ware.

pottery, or a particular kind of pottery: delft ware.
Archaeology. a group of ceramic types classified according to paste and texture, surface modification, as burnish or glaze, and decorative motifs rather than shape and color.

Origin of ware

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English waru; cognate with German Ware

Other definitions for ware (2 of 5)

ware²

[ wair ]

adjective

watchful, wary, or cautious.
aware; conscious.

verb (used with object),wared, war·ing.

to beware of (usually used in the imperative).

Origin of ware

First recorded before 900; Middle English adjective; Old English adjective wær; cognate with German gewahr “aware,” Old Norse varr “aware”

Other definitions for ware (3 of 5)

ware³

[ wair ]

verb (used with object),wared, war·ing.Scot. and North England.

to spend; expend.

Origin of ware

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Old Norse verja “to spend, invest”

Other definitions for ware (4 of 5)

ware⁴

[ wair ]

nounScot. and North England.

the first season in the year; spring.

Origin of ware

⁴

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old Norse vār “spring”; perhaps akin to Latin vēr, Greek éar “spring”; see vernal

Other definitions for -ware (5 of 5)

-ware

a combining form extracted from software, occurring as the final element in words that refer to a specified kind or class of software: spyware;shareware.: See also ware¹ (def. 2).

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ware in a sentence

They were also wrong when they thought ware had pulled out a gun.
Chicago’s Cops Don’t Even Get Investigated for Shooting People in the Back | Justin Glawe | December 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
ware went to court claiming a number of irregularities, including issues with hundreds of absentee ballots.
Could Chris McDaniel Get A Do-Over In The Mississippi Senate Race? | Ben Jacobs | July 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
If the Broncos do manage to land ware, their defense could be scary.
First Mega-Deal Is Done as the NFL’s Free Agent Scrap Begins | Ben Teitelbaum | March 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
ware, a tenacious pass-rusher, is a 7-time Pro Bowler and the Cowboys all-time leader in sacks, with 117 in nine seasons.
First Mega-Deal Is Done as the NFL’s Free Agent Scrap Begins | Ben Teitelbaum | March 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Reports say that the defending AFC champion Denver Broncos are the favorites to sign ware.
First Mega-Deal Is Done as the NFL’s Free Agent Scrap Begins | Ben Teitelbaum | March 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

No man opens his ware with greater seriousness, or challenges your judgment more in the operation.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.
He left about a hundred of us here to make believe we 'uns ware goin' to attack Paris, so to give him time to git away.
The Courier of the Ozarks | Byron A. Dunn
Even the scribe has seen this, and has altered were to ware, to give a rime to the eye.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems | Geoffrey Chaucer
The parlour, having once been a ware-room, was unusually large and well adapted for a tea-party.
The Garret and the Garden | R.M. Ballantyne
They never knew how long they had sat there on the stairs when Dr. ware opened the bedroom door and beckoned them in.
Those Dale Girls | Frank Weston Carruth

British Dictionary definitions for ware (1 of 3)

ware¹

/ (wɛə) /

noun(often in combination)

(functioning as singular) articles of the same kind or material: glassware; silverware
porcelain or pottery of a specified type: agateware; jasper ware

Origin of ware

Old English waru; related to Old Frisian were, Old Norse vara, Middle Dutch Ware

See also wares

British Dictionary definitions for ware (2 of 3)

ware²

/ (wɛə) archaic /

verb

another word for beware

adjective

another word for wary, wise 1

Origin of ware

Old English wær; related to Old Saxon, Old High German giwar, Old Norse varr, Gothic war, Latin vereor. See aware, beware

British Dictionary definitions for ware (3 of 3)

ware³

/ (wɛə) /

verb

(tr) Northern English and British dialect to spend or squander

Origin of ware

C15: of Scandinavian origin; related to Icelandic verja

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for -ware

-ware

A suffix that means software, as in shareware.

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