ware

¹ American  

[wair] / wɛər /

noun

1. Usually wares

   1. articles of merchandise or manufacture; goods.

      a peddler selling his wares.

   2. any intangible items, as services or products of artistic or intellectual creativity, that are saleable.

      an actor advertising his wares.

2. a specified kind or class of merchandise or of manufactured article (usually used in combination).

   silverware;

   glassware.

3. pottery, or a particular kind of pottery.

   delft ware.

4. 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.

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ware ² American  

[wair] / wɛər /

adjective

1. watchful, wary, or cautious.

2. aware; conscious.

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verb (used with object)

wared, waring

1. to beware of (usually used in the imperative).

ware ³ American  

[wair] / wɛər /

verb (used with object)

Scot. and North England.

wared, waring

1. to spend; expend.

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ware ⁴ American  

[wair] / wɛər /

noun

Scot. and North England.

1. the first season in the year; spring.

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-ware ⁵ American  

1. 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.

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ware ¹ British  

/ wɛə /

verb

1. dialect (tr) to spend or squander

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ware ² British  

/ wɛə /

verb

1. another word for beware

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adjective

1. another word for wary wise 1

ware ³ British  

/ wɛə /

noun

1. (functioning as singular) articles of the same kind or material

   glassware

   silverware

2. porcelain or pottery of a specified type

   agateware

   jasper ware

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–ware Scientific  

1. A suffix that means “software,” as in shareware.

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Usage

What does -ware mean? The combining form -ware is used like a suffix meaning “software,” a program used to direct a computer. It is occasionally used in technical terms, especially in computer science.The form -ware comes from the word software. The word software itself was coined around 1955 to contrast with hardware, a much older term used to refer to mechanical equipment. Learn more at our entry for hardware.

Etymology

Origin of ware¹

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

Origin of ware²

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

Origin of ware³

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

Origin of ware⁴

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

Example Sentences

And when war headlines give way to the damage the ware has done to global growth prospects, stocks will struggle to recover.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

Nichols’s large donation of ceramics to the museum included an Izumo ware teapot glazed in the creamy buttermilk hue that distinguishes its type.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 12, 2025

The paintings would capture people in their homes and the ceramic vessels, as a metaphor for himself as an artist in service of his subject, would be serving ware — plates, cups, bowls, bottles.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2025

The boxes cost $50 for an assortment of pots, pans and other Le Creuset ware valued, in total, around $300.

From Salon • Sep. 23, 2025

What she didn’t notice was that the Costas ware alert every second for unusual signs of interest in Lyra from the waterside people.

From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman

Related Words

• commodity
• fabric
• merchandise
• textile