wear Hear it!

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wear1 definition

wear (wer)

transitive verb wore, worn, wearing wear′·ing

    1. to have on the body or carry on the person (clothing, jewelry, a weapon, etc.)
    2. to hold the position or rank symbolized by to wear the heavyweight crown
    3. to dress in (a specified kind of attire) so as to be in style what college students are wearing this fall
  2. to have or show in one's expression or appearance to wear a smile, wearing an air of expectancy
  3. to be fitted with or have on the person habitually to wear dentures
  4. to have or bear as a characteristic or attribute to wear a beard, to wear one's hair long
  5. to fly or show (its flag): said of a ship
  6. to impair, consume, or diminish as by constant use, handling, or friction: often with away
  7. to bring by use to a specified state to wear a coat to rags
  8. to make, cause, or produce by the friction of rubbing, scraping, flowing, etc. to wear a hole in the sole of one's shoe
  9. to tire or exhaust (a person)
  10. to pass (time) slowly or tediously: often with away or out

Etymology: ME weren < OE werian, akin to ON verja, Goth wasjan, to clothe < IE base *wes-, to clothe > Sans vastra-, L vestis, clothing, vestire, to clothe

intransitive verb

  1. to become impaired, consumed, or diminished by constant use, friction, etc. shoes that have begun to wear
  2. to hold up in use as specified; bear continued use or handling; last a suit that wears well
  3. to become in time; grow gradually courage that is wearing thin
  4. to pass away gradually: often with away or on: said of time [the year wore on]
  5. to have an irritating or exhausting effect (on) noise wearing on our nerves

noun

  1. the act of wearing or the state of being worn
  2. things, esp. clothes, worn, or for wearing, on the body [children's wear]: often in combination [sportswear, footwear]
  3. the fashion or proper style of dress or the like
    1. the gradual impairment, loss, or diminution from use, friction, etc.
    2. the amount of such loss
  5. the ability to resist impairment or loss from use, friction, etc. a lot of wear left in the tire

Related Forms:

wear Idioms

wear down

  1. to make or become worn; lose or cause to lose thickness or height by use, friction, etc.
  2. to tire out, or exhaust (a person); weary
  3. to overcome the resistance of by persistence

wear off

to pass awayor diminish by degrees

wear out

  1. to make or become useless from continued wear or use
  2. to waste or consume by degrees
  3. to tire out; exhaust

wear the pants

or wear the trousers
Informal to have the greatest authority in a family
wear2 definition

wear (wer)

transitive verb wore, worn, wearing wear′·ing

to turn or bring (a vessel) about by swinging its bow away from the wind; veer

Etymology: ? altered (infl. by wear) < veer

intransitive verb

to turn or come about by having the bow swung away from the wind

noun

the act of wearing a ship
Wear definition

Wear (wir)

river in Durham, N England, flowing northeast into the North Sea: 67 mi (108 km)

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms wear idiom

wear Synonyms

wear

n.

depreciation, damage, loss, erosion, wear and tear, loss by friction, inroads of time, diminution, waste, corrosion, impairment, wearing away, dilapidation, disappearance, result of friction.

Antonyms growth*, accretion*, building up.


wear

v.

  1. To use as clothing or personal ornament

    bear, carry, affect, put on, don, be clothed, slip on, get on, have on, dress in, attire, array, cover, wrap, harness, get into*; see also dress 1.

    Antonyms undress*, take off*, disrobe. *

  2. To consume by wearing

    use up, use, consume, wear thin, wear out, waste, diminish, cut down, scrape off, exhaust, fatigue, weather down, impair.

  3. To be consumed by wearing

    fade, go to seed, decay, crumble, weather, dwindle, shrink, decline, deteriorate, decrease, waste, become threadbare.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

wear Usage Examples

Object

  • clothes: Wear very warm clothes - you could also come in Halloween costume.

Converse of object

  • withstand: These wires are strong and withstand normal wear and tear.

Adjective modifier

  • casual: Brown shoes, trainers or suede are strictly for casual wear.

Adjective complement

  • thin: Waites's habitual references to contemporaneous songs quickly wear thin, bringing to mind the recent glut of glib nostalgia television shows.

Noun used with modifier

  • tire: It can be very costly to neglect tire wear.

Modifies a noun

  • glove: Light sparklers one at a time and wear gloves.
wear usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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MLA Style

"wear." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/wear>

APA Style

wear. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/wear

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