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:
If you could even find a Ramones T-shirt in the ’70s or ’80s, you weren’t going to wear it anywhere besides a Ramones concert unless you wanted to find yourself in an argument, or worse.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
It just depends on how you wear it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
The firm compared the buildings’ total savings with their physical wear.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Zainab, who is Muslim and wears a hijab, is also often one of the only people covering her hair at premieres, but she says finding ways to incorporate modest wear is part of the fun.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
“And really, it’s ghastly what we have to do to make our features show up on the screen. Completely different from what we’d wear out and about on an ordinary day.”
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
The Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service also confirmed it had attended the scene.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 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
Wear hiking boots and long pants for protection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 22, 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
“Stand in front,” he urges, “so you will be seen. Wear a big sombrero, so you will really be seen. Most important, look smart.”
From "Beast Rider" by Tony Johnston & María Elena Fontanot de Rhoads
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
Further spikes of heat are likely, however as August wears on and the sun gradually loses some of its intensity, the likelihood of extreme temperatures in the high 30s lessens.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 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
She wears several necklaces of pearls and copper, and a mantle of deerskin over one shoulder.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
“There was an incredible outpouring of support from all over Southern California, and we served hundreds of impacted families,” said Mathers, who wore a shirt at the slumber party emblazoned with “Camp Counselor.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
By the 1950s and ’60s, when boomers were growing up, Americans traveling abroad were in rare air—a glamorous jet set who wore their best for flights on Pan Am and TWA.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Scottish Championship side Dunfermline Athletic have released a shirt that harks back to the one they wore during the 1994-95 season.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
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
The man wore a gun in a leather holster and a beribboned uniform.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
The title role was written for the trans singer Lucia Lucas, but her worn baritone made little of Mr. Picker’s vocal writing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Napoli's third kit evokes designs famously worn during the 1986-87 and 1988-90 seasons, when a certain Diego Maradona inspired the club to two Serie A titles.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
Kylie Jenner has even worn the brand in a Dunkin’ campaign.
From Salon ● 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
He stroked my hair, which I’d worn loose that day.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
I’ve loved the nods from people also wearing Knicks gear on their morning coffee runs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
For which Mellencamp showed up to shoot a music video wearing a leather vest over a “Where’s Waldo?” top.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
For House of the Dragon season two, she wore a red gown by a student designer featuring three faces wearing hijabs.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
The first time he decided to trash one of the cameras, a self-styled vigilante wearing all black and known as Nomark says he was "super nervous."
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
She could be wearing goddess locs, Lemonade braids, or passion twists.
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.
