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.
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.
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.
(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
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
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)
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.
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The dress was designed by the iconic Toyin Lawan of Tiannah's Empire, who commented on Instagram that she's beginning a trend of "everyone wear your business".
From BBC • May 10, 2026
Termites wear their support system on the outside in the form of an exoskeleton.
From Science Daily • May 9, 2026
Sergei, the special forces "spetsnaz" officer, said members of his unit did not wear an identification number or body cameras with Ukrainian prisoners of war.
From Barron's • May 8, 2026
During the day, I wear my Apple Watch for notifications and GPS tracking.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
“Aye. But, you know—feel no need to wear it.”
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
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.
