51³Ô¹Ï

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View synonyms for

wear

[wair]

verb (used with object)

wore, worn, wearing. 
  1. 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.

  2. to have or use on the person habitually.

    to wear a wig.

  3. to bear or have in one's aspect or appearance.

    to wear a smile;

    to wear an air of triumph.

  4. to cause (garments, linens, etc.) to deteriorate or change by wear.

    Hard use has worn these gloves.

  5. to impair, deteriorate, or consume gradually by use or any continued process.

    Long illness had worn the bloom from her cheeks.

  6. to waste or diminish gradually by rubbing, scraping, washing, etc..

    The waves have worn these rocks.

  7. to make (a hole, channel, way, etc.) by such action.

  8. 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.

  9. to weary; fatigue; exhaust.

    Toil and care soon wear the spirit.

  10. to pass (time) gradually or tediously (usually followed by away orout ).

    We wore the afternoon away in arguing.

  11. Nautical.Ìýto bring (a vessel) on another tack by turning until the wind is on the stern.

  12. British Dialect.Ìýto gather and herd (sheep or cattle) to a pen or pasture.



verb (used without object)

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

  2. to retain shape, color, usefulness, value, etc., under wear, use, or any continued strain.

    a strong material that will wear;

    colors that wear well.

  3. (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.

  4. 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.

  5. Nautical.Ìý(of a vessel) to come round on another tack by turning away from the wind.

  6. Obsolete.Ìýto be commonly worn; to be in fashion.

noun

  1. 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.

  2. the state of being worn, as on the person.

  3. clothing or other articles for wearing; especially when fashionable or appropriate for a particular function (often used in combination).

    travel wear;

    sportswear.

  4. gradual impairment, wasting, diminution, etc., as from use.

    The carpet shows wear.

  5. the quality of resisting deterioration with use; durability.

verb phrase

  1. wear out.

  2. to diminish slowly or gradually or to diminish in effect; disappear.

    The drug began to wear off.

    1. to reduce or impair by long wearing.

      to wear down the heels of one's shoes.

    2. to weary; tire.

      His constant talking wears me down.

    3. to prevail by persistence; overcome.

      to wear down the opposition.

wear

1

/ ·Éɛə /

verb

  1. (tr) to carry or have (a garment, etc) on one's person as clothing, ornament, etc

  2. (tr) to carry or have on one's person habitually

    she wears a lot of red

  3. (tr) to have in one's aspect

    to wear a smile

  4. (tr) to display, show, or fly

    a ship wears its colours

  5. to deteriorate or cause to deteriorate by constant use or action

  6. to produce or be produced by constant rubbing, scraping, etc

    to wear a hole in one's trousers

  7. to bring or be brought to a specified condition by constant use or action

    to wear a tyre to shreds

  8. (intr) to submit to constant use or action in a specified way

    his suit wears well

  9. (tr) to harass or weaken

  10. (of time) to pass or be passed slowly

  11. slangÌý(tr) to accept

    Larry won't wear that argument

  12. to change the tack of a sailing vessel, esp a square-rigger, by coming about so that the wind passes astern

“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

noun

  1. the act of wearing or state of being worn

    1. anything designed to be worn

      leisure wear

    2. ( in combination )

      nightwear

  2. deterioration from constant or normal use or action

  3. the quality of resisting the effects of constant use

“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

Wear

2

/ ·Éɪə /

noun

  1. 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)

“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

wear

3

/ ·Éɛə /

verb

  1. nautical to tack by gybing instead of by going through stays

“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
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Other 51³Ô¹Ï Forms

  • wearer noun
  • rewear verb
  • ˈ·É±ð²¹°ù±ð°ù noun
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51³Ô¹Ï History and Origins

Origin of wear1

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 clotheâ€; (noun) late Middle English were “act of carrying on the body,†derivative of the verb; akin to Latin vestis clothing ( vest )
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51³Ô¹Ï History and Origins

Origin of wear1

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

Origin of wear2

C17: from earlier weare, of unknown origin
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. wear thin,

    1. to diminish; weaken.

      My patience is wearing thin.

    2. to become less appealing, interesting, tolerable, etc..

      childish antics that soon wore thin.

In addition to the idioms beginning with wear, also see hair shirt, wear a; if the shoe fits, wear it; none the worse for (wear); worse for wear.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

"You would play against other teams and they'd be wearing colourful boots that you wanted to wear, because your idols wore colourful boots," says Gomes.

From

Police are hunting for the suspect, Vance Luther Boelter, who wore a latex mask and posed as an officer to shoot the victims at their homes in suburban Minneapolis, before escaping on foot.

From

Angel City FC players and staff wore shirts in support of immigrants before the team’s match on Saturday.

From

Although people will be allowed back into fire-affected communities, public safety and health authorities are asking them to exercise caution, such as wearing an N-95 mask to prevent exposure to toxic dust.

From

Then, the video cuts to Nezza — who was wearing a Dominican Republic shirt — signing a Spanish version of the Star-Spangled Banner on the field ahead of the Dodgers’ win against the San Francisco Giants.

From

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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.

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