wear
verb (used with object)
to carry or have on the body or about the person as a covering, equipment, ornament, or the like.
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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.
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to have or use on the person habitually.
to wear a wig.
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to bear or have in one's aspect or appearance.
to wear a smile;
to wear an air of triumph.
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to cause (garments, linens, etc.) to deteriorate or change by wear.
Hard use has worn these gloves.
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to impair, deteriorate, or consume gradually by use or any continued process.
Long illness had worn the bloom from her cheeks.
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to waste or diminish gradually by rubbing, scraping, washing, etc..
The waves have worn these rocks.
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to make (a hole, channel, way, etc.) by such action.
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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.
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to weary; fatigue; exhaust.
Toil and care soon wear the spirit.
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to pass (time) gradually or tediously (usually followed by away orout ).
We wore the afternoon away in arguing.
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Nautical. to bring (a vessel) on another tack by turning until the wind is on the stern.
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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.
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(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.
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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.
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Nautical. (of a vessel) to come round on another tack by turning away from the wind.
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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
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(tr) to have in one's aspect
to wear a smile
-
(tr) to display, show, or fly
a ship wears its colours
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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
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to bring or be brought to a specified condition by constant use or action
to wear a tyre to shreds
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(intr) to submit to constant use or action in a specified way
his suit wears well
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(tr) to harass or weaken
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(of time) to pass or be passed slowly
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slang (tr) to accept
Larry won't wear that argument
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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
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wearssimple
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have wornperfect
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has wornperfect
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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:
The delivery drivers should wear snappier uniforms, they said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
But “The Pineapple” did wear me down, and it’s beautiful in the way it highlights the lonely anguish at the heart of Buffett’s “Margaritaville.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
One of the most sinister aspects of e-bike misuse is that riders often wear black balaclavas or "ballys".
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Collins shopped with his grandmother Kathy Red Elk for a suit Walters could wear to court.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
I took inner and outer deerskin pants, two sealskin blouses, a pair of mukluks and a pair of softer boots to wear under them, a pair of gloves and a pair of mittens.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
She has also held roles at Women's Wear Daily and the Daily Beast.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
"We will continue to back our volunteers every step of the way as they work tirelessly to safeguard the River Wear for generations to come."
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
On a cold November morning, designer Isaac Mizrahi gets up, leaves his apartment, and trudges to the corner newsstand to pick up a copy of Women’s Wear Daily.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
Reed wrote for many publications in the ensuing years, including Vogue, Esquire, GQ and Women’s Wear Daily, before landing at the New York Observer when it was founded as a print weekly in 1987.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
Each night we make a plan: Wear your yellow one tomorrow, Maria says, and I'll wear mine.
From "Brown Girl Dreaming" by Jacqueline Woodson
"For a large chunk of the film's runtime, the answer is a resounding yes," wrote reviewer Jordan Bassett, who said Bryan's encounters become repetitive as the film wears on.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
As he’s spoken to audiences of government officials, diplomats, academics and journalists, Dans — who wears his Arctic commission lapel pin and exudes a professorial air — has also waded into foreign policy.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026
“I’m sure you’ve seen all the TikToks where everyone wears a wig to brunch,” said Nate Jones, a 29-year-old advertising strategist in Chicago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Gnocchi is on a flea prevention plan, Zephyr wears an air tag and Nill’s pram gives Lana and Steve a safe enclosure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
He’s dashing and handsome, and he wears a well-tailored suit that fails to hide his muscles.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
He wore a dark hoodie cinched around his face and a rubber mask that obscured everything but his eyes.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Standing on the sidelines, the 25-year-old girlfriend of head coach Bill Belichick wore a Carolina jersey that had been fashioned into a crop top and a bedazzled football purse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
One of Mackie's early assignments saw him sketch the dress that Marilyn Monroe wore when she delivered her breathy rendition of "Happy Birthday Mr President" to John F Kennedy in 1962.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Mackie was particularly influential in Cher's career and designed her iconic Mohawk outfit, which she wore to the Oscars in 1986.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
The man wore a gun in a leather holster and a beribboned uniform.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
At this year’s Met Gala, a version of that 2016 bubble dress—called “Seijaku,” which means “serenity”—was worn by the Olympic freestyle skier Eileen Gu.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
In the replies, Rupar’s followers posted photos of disability devices that are worn around the hips in order to assist people with walking.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026
A person familiar with the decision to dismiss Baker-Mazara told The Times then that patience for the sixth-year senior had worn thin through a frustrating season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
"If the teeth have been worn down to such an extent, treatment can be extremely complex and can cost thousands of pounds."
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
There was water, a tiny bit of food, a worn blanket on the floor.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
At the Sunday reception, the couple had their first dance, with Bettina Trump wearing her wedding dress, and ate a five-tier wedding cake topped with a miniature bride and groom.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
Those in-ear monitors that the actors are wearing feed them edited clips from the real audio of the hearings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
They are $125, and the website features a thoughtful banner image of Huberman looking at a phone while wearing them.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026
Valerie McCarthy, a leader in the Oconee County Republican Party, began filing public-records requests from her home office, sitting next to a copy of the Constitution and a teddy bear wearing a Trump T-shirt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Because of course, Berlin was wearing her program T-shirt and probably Marcie had called ahead.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
