worn

[ wawrn, wohrn ]

/ wɔrn, woʊrn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR worn ON THESAURUS.COM

verb

past participle of wear.

adjective

diminished in value or usefulness through wear, use, handling, etc.: worn clothing; worn tires.

wearied; exhausted.

Nearby words

worms, diet of, wormseed, wormseed oil, wormwood, wormy, worn, worn out, worn to a frazzle, worn-out, worried, worried sick

SYNONYMS FOR worn

3 fatigued, tired, spent.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR worn ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsworn·ness, nounself-worn, adjectiveun·worn, adjective

Definition for worn (2 of 2)

wear

[ wair ]

/ wɛər /

verb (used with object), wore, worn, wear·ing.

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: to wear clothes to rags; to wear a person to a shadow.

to weary; fatigue; exhaust: Toil and care soon wear the spirit.

to pass (time) gradually or tediously (usually followed by away or out): 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), wore, worn, wear·ing.

to undergo gradual impairment, diminution, reduction, etc., from wear, use, attrition, or other causes (often followed by away, down, out, or off).

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 or away): 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 Phrases

wear down,

to reduce or impair by long wearing: to wear down the heels of one's shoes.
to weary; tire: His constant talking wears me down.
to prevail by persistence; overcome: to wear down the opposition.

wear off, to diminish slowly or gradually or to diminish in effect; disappear: The drug began to wear off.

wear out,

to make or become unfit or useless through hard or extended use: to wear out clothes.
to expend, consume, or remove, especially slowly or gradually.
to exhaust, as by continued strain; weary: This endless bickering is wearing me out.

Origin of wear

before 900; (v.) 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 v.; akin to Latin vestis clothing (see vest)

SYNONYMS FOR wear

26c tire, fatigue, drain.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wear ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formswear·er, nounre·wear, verb, re·wore, re·worn, re·wear·ing.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for worn

Mrs. Kouachi works at a nursery and has worn the veil since she made the pilgrimage to Mecca in 2008.
France Mourns—and Hunts|Nico Hines, Christopher Dickey|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“The novelty of David Duke has worn off,” said Scalise then.
No. 3 Republican Admits Talking to White Supremacist Conference|Tim Mak|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The carpeting is worn, the furniture is falling apart, and the electricity is out for most of the day.
The Dangerous Drug-Funded Secret War Between Iran and Pakistan|Umar Farooq|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is also the one worn by Presidents Eisenhower, Truman, and George W. Bush.
My Love Letter to the Stetson|Mark McKinnon|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

A worn couch sitting squarely before a wood veneer wall, accented by the head of a deer.
#Setinthestreet: Your Street Corner Is Their Art Project|James Joiner|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The face usually so sparkling looked very, very pale, and worn, and sad.
The Unseen Bridgegroom|May Agnes Fleming
His costume was superb, and was such as was then worn, on important occasions, by American gentlemen of the highest rank.
Benjamin Franklin, A Picture of the Struggles of Our Infant Nation One Hundred Years Ago|John S. C. Abbott
It may drive you before it for days, until you are worn out, and there's no knowing where it will drive you.
Bear Brownie|H. P. Robinson
A path two feet deep had been worn into the stepping-stone at the entrance.
Paris: With Pen and Pencil|David W. Bartlett
One plantation contained three thousand acres of land, but was said to be very old and worn out.
Camp-Fire and Cotton-Field|Thomas W. Knox

British Dictionary definitions for worn (1 of 4)

worn

/ (wɔːn) /

verb

the past participle of wear 1

adjective

affected, esp adversely, by long use or actiona worn suit

haggard; drawn

exhausted; spent

Derived Formswornness, noun

British Dictionary definitions for worn (2 of 4)

Wear

/ (wɪə) /

noun

a river in NE England, rising in NW Durham and flowing southeast then northeast to the North Sea at Sunderland. Length: 105 km (65 miles)

British Dictionary definitions for worn (3 of 4)

wear

/ (wɛə) /

verb wears, wearing, wore or worn

(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 habituallyshe wears a lot of red

(tr) to have in one's aspectto wear a smile

(tr) to display, show, or flya ship wears its colours

to deteriorate or cause to deteriorate by constant use or action

to produce or be produced by constant rubbing, scraping, etcto wear a hole in one's trousers

to bring or be brought to a specified condition by constant use or actionto wear a tyre to shreds

(intr) to submit to constant use or action in a specified wayhis suit wears well

(tr) to harass or weaken

(when intr, often foll by on) (of time) to pass or be passed slowly

(tr) British slang to acceptLarry won't wear that argument

wear ship 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 wornleisure wear
(in combination)nightwear

deterioration from constant or normal use or action

the quality of resisting the effects of constant use

Word Origin for wear

Old English werian; related to Old High German werien, Old Norse verja, Gothic vasjan

British Dictionary definitions for worn (4 of 4)

wear

/ (wɛə) /

verb wears, wearing, wore or worn

nautical to tack by gybing instead of by going through stays

Word Origin for wear

C17: from earlier weare, of unknown origin

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

Word Origin and History for worn (1 of 3)

worn

adj.

c.1500, from adjectival use of past participle of wear (v.); from Old English geworen (see wear). Worn-out "exhausted by use" is attested from 1610s in reference to things, c.1700 in reference to persons.

Word Origin and History for worn (1 of 3)

wear

"action of wearing" (clothes), mid-15c., from wear (v.). Meaning "what one wears" is 1570s. To be the worse for wear is attested from 1782; noun phrase wear and tear is first recorded 1660s, implying the sense "process of being degraded by use."

Word Origin and History for worn (2 of 3)

wear

Old English werian "to clothe, put on," from Proto-Germanic *wazjanan (cf. Old Norse verja, Old High German werian, Gothic gawasjan "to clothe"), from PIE *wes- "to clothe" (cf. Sanskrit vaste "he puts on," vasanam "garment;" Avestan vah-; Greek esthes "clothing," hennymi "to clothe," eima "garment;" Latin vestire "to clothe;" Welsh gwisgo, Breton gwiska; Old English wæstling "sheet, blanket;" Hittite washshush "garments," washanzi "they dress").

The Germanic forms "were homonyms of the vb. for 'prevent, ward off, protect' (Goth. warjan, O.E. werian, etc.), and this was prob. a factor in their early displacement in most of the Gmc. languages" [Buck]. Shifted from a weak verb (past tense and past participle wered) to a strong one (past tense wore, past participle worn) in 14c. on analogy of rhyming strong verbs such as bear and tear.

Secondary sense of "use up, gradually damage" (late 13c.) is from effect of continued use on clothes. To be the worse for wear is attested from 1782; noun phrase wear and tear is first recorded 1660s.

Idioms and Phrases with worn

wear

In addition to the idioms beginning with wear

wear and tear
wear another hat
wear down
wear off
wear one's heart on one's sleeve
wear out
wear out one's welcome
wear the pants
wear thin
wear two hats
wear well

also see:

hair shirt, wear a
if the shoe fits, wear it
none the worse for (wear)
worse for wear

worn

verb

adjective

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Definition for worn (2 of 2)

wear

verb (used with object), wore, worn, wear·ing.

verb (used without object), wore, worn, wear·ing.

noun

Verb Phrases

Origin of wear

Examples from the Web for worn

British Dictionary definitions for worn (1 of 4)

worn

verb

adjective

British Dictionary definitions for worn (2 of 4)

Wear

noun

British Dictionary definitions for worn (3 of 4)

wear

verb wears, wearing, wore or worn

noun

Word Origin for wear

British Dictionary definitions for worn (4 of 4)

wear

verb wears, wearing, wore or worn

Word Origin for wear

Word Origin and History for worn (1 of 3)

worn

Word Origin and History for worn (1 of 3)

wear

Word Origin and History for worn (2 of 3)

wear

Idioms and Phrases with worn

wear

worn

.css-1gxch3{color:#1a1a1a;font-size:18px;font-weight:normal;font-style:italic;}verb

adjective

RELATED CONTENT

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Nearby words

Definition for.css-ylq2vz{color:#1a1a1a;} worn (2 of 2)

wear

verb (used without object), wore, worn, wear·ing.

noun

Verb Phrases

Origin of wear

Examples from the Web for worn

British Dictionary definitions for worn (1 of 4)

worn

verb

adjective

British Dictionary definitions for worn (2 of 4)

Wear

noun

British Dictionary definitions for worn (3 of 4)

wear

verb wears, wearing, wore or worn

noun

Word Origin for wear

British Dictionary definitions for worn (4 of 4)

wear

verb wears, wearing, wore or worn

Word Origin for wear

Word Origin and History for worn (1 of 3)

worn

Word Origin and History for worn (1 of 3)

wear

Word Origin and History for worn (2 of 3)

wear

Idioms and Phrases with worn

wear

verb

Definition for worn (2 of 2)