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Webster 1913 Edition

Wear

Wear

(wēr; 277)
,
Noun.
Same as
Weir
.

Wear

(wâr)
,
Verb.
T.
[Cf.
Veer
.]
(Naut.)
To cause to go about, as a vessel, by putting the helm up, instead of alee as in tacking, so that the vessel’s bow is turned away from, and her stern is presented to, the wind, and, as she turns still farther, her sails fill on the other side; to veer.

Wear

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp.
Wore
(wōr)
;
p. p.
Worn
(wōrn)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Wearing
. Before the 15th century wear was a weak verb, the
imp. & p. p.
being
Weared
.]
[OE.
weren
,
werien
, AS.
werian
to carry, to wear, as arms or clothes; akin to OHG.
werien
,
weren
, to clothe, Goth.
wasjan
, L.
vestis
clothing,
vestire
to clothe, Gr.
ἑννύναι
, Skr.
vas
. Cf.
Vest
.]
1.
To carry or bear upon the person; to bear upon one's self, as an article of clothing, decoration, warfare, bondage, etc.; to have appendant to one's body; to have on;
as, to
wear
a coat; to
wear
a shackle.
What compass will you
wear
your farthingale?
Shakespeare
On her white breast a sparkling cross she
wore
,
Which Jews might kiss, and infidels adore.
Pope.
2.
To have or exhibit an appearance of, as an aspect or manner; to bear;
as, she
wears
a smile on her countenance
.
“He wears the rose of youth upon him.”
Shak.
His innocent gestures
wear

A meaning half divine.
Keble.
3.
To use up by carrying or having upon one's self; hence, to consume by use; to waste; to use up;
as, to
wear
clothes rapidly
.
4.
To impair, waste, or diminish, by continual attrition, scraping, percussion, on the like; to consume gradually; to cause to lower or disappear; to spend.
That wicked wight his days doth
wear
.
Spenser.
The waters
wear
the stones.
Job xiv. 19.
5.
To cause or make by friction or wasting;
as, to
wear
a channel; to
wear
a hole
.
6.
To form or shape by, or as by, attrition.
Trials
wear
us into a liking of what, possibly, in the first essay, displeased us.
Locke.
To wear away
,
to consume; to impair, diminish, or destroy, by gradual attrition or decay.
–
To wear off
,
to diminish or remove by attrition or slow decay; as, to wear off the nap of cloth.
–
To wear on
or
To wear upon
,
to wear.
[Obs.]
“[I] weared upon my gay scarlet gites [gowns.]”
Chaucer.
–
To wear out
.
(a)
To consume, or render useless, by attrition or decay;
as,
to wear out
a coat or a book
.
(b)
To consume tediously.
“To wear out miserable days.”
Milton.
(c)
To harass; to tire.
“[He] shall wear out the saints of the Most High.”
Dan vii. 25.
(d)
To waste the strength of; as, an old man worn out in military service.
–
To wear the breeches
.
See under
Breeches
.
[Colloq.]

Wear

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To endure or suffer use; to last under employment; to bear the consequences of use, as waste, consumption, or attrition;
as, a coat
wears
well or ill
; – hence, sometimes applied to character, qualifications, etc.;
as, a man
wears
well as an acquaintance
.
2.
To be wasted, consumed, or diminished, by being used; to suffer injury, loss, or extinction by use or time; to decay, or be spent, gradually.
“Thus wore out night.”
Milton.
Away, I say; time
wears
.
Shakespeare
Thou wilt surely
wear
away, both thou and this people that is with thee.
Ex. xviii. 18.
His stock of money began to
wear
very low.
Sir W. Scott.
The family . . .
wore
out in the earlier part of the century.
Beaconsfield.
To wear off
,
to pass away by degrees;
as, the follies of youth
wear off
with age
.
–
To wear on
,
to pass on;
as, time
wears on
.
G. Eliot.
–
To wear weary
,
to become weary, as by wear, long occupation, tedious employment, etc.

Wear

,
Noun.
1.
The act of wearing, or the state of being worn; consumption by use; diminution by friction;
as, the
wear
of a garment
.
2.
The thing worn; style of dress; the fashion.
Motley 's the only
wear
.
Shakespeare
Wear and tear
,
the loss by wearing, as of machinery in use; the loss or injury to which anything is subjected by use, accident, etc.
{

Weir

(wēr)
,

Wear

,}
Noun.
[OE.
wer
, AS.
wer
; akin to G.
wehr
, AS.
werian
to defend, protect, hinder, G.
wehren
, Goth.
warjan
; and perhaps to E.
wary
; or cf. Skr.
vṛ
to check, hinder. √142. Cf.
Garret
.]
1.
A dam in a river to stop and raise the water, for the purpose of conducting it to a mill, forming a fish pond, or the like.
2.
A fence of stakes, brushwood, or the like, set in a stream, tideway, or inlet of the sea, for taking fish.
3.
A long notch with a horizontal edge, as in the top of a vertical plate or plank, through which water flows, – used in measuring the quantity of flowing water.

Webster 1828 Edition

Wear

WEAR

,
Verb.
T.
pret. wore; pp. worn.
1.
To waste or impair by rubbing or attrition; to lessen or diminish by time, use or instruments. A current of water often wears a channel in limestone.
2.
To carry appendant to the body, as clothes or weapons; as, to wear a coat or a robe; to wear a sword; to wear a crown.
On her white breast a sparkling cross she wore.
3.
To have or exhibit an appearance; to bear; as, she wears a smile on her countenance.
4.
To affect by degrees.
Trials wear us into a liking of what possible, in the first essay, displeased us.
To wear away, to consume; to impair, diminish or destroy by gradual attrition or decay.
To wear off, to diminish by attrition or slow decay.
To wear out,
1.
To consume; to render useless by attrition or decay; as, to wear out a coat or a book.
2.
To consume tediously; as, to wear out life in idle projects.
3.
To harass; to tire.
He shall wear out the saints of the Most High. Daniel 7.
4.
To waste the strength of; as an old amn worn out in the service of his country.

WEAR

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To be wasted; to be diminished by attrition, by use, or by time.
Thou wilt surely wear away. Exodus 18.
2.
To be tediously spent.
Thus wore out night.
3.
To be consumed by slow degrees. It is better to wear out, than to rust out.
To wear off, to pass away by degrees. The follies of youth wear off with age.

WEAR

,
Noun.
1.
The act of wearing; diminution by friction; as the wear and tear of a garment.
2.
The thing worn.

WEAR

,
Noun.
[See Warren and Guard.]
1.
A dam in a river to stop and raise the water, for conducting it to a mill, or for taking fish.
2.
An instrument or kind of basket work for catching fish.

Definition 2024

Wear

Wear

See also: wear and -wear

English

Proper noun

Wear

  1. A river in the county of Tyne and Wear in north east England. The city of Sunderland is found upon its banks.

Anagrams

wear

wear

See also: -wear and Wear

English

Alternative forms

Verb

wear ‎(third-person singular simple present wears, present participle wearing, simple past weared or wore, past participle weared or worn)

  1. (now chiefly Britain dialectal, transitive) To guard; watch; keep watch, especially from entry or invasion.
  2. (now chiefly Britain dialectal, transitive) To defend; protect.
  3. (now chiefly Britain dialectal, transitive) To ward off; prevent from approaching or entering; drive off; repel.
    to wear the wolf from the sheep
  4. (now chiefly Britain dialectal, transitive) To conduct or guide with care or caution, as into a fold or place of safety.

Etymology 2

From Middle English weren, werien, from Old English werian ‎(“to clothe, cover over; put on, wear, use; stock (land)”), from Proto-Germanic *wazjaną ‎(“to clothe”), from Proto-Indo-European *wes- ‎(“to dress, put on (clothes)”). Cognate to Sanskrit वस्ते ‎(vaste), Ancient Greek ἕννυμι ‎(hénnumi, “put on”), Latin vestis ‎(“garment”) (English vest), Albanian vesh ‎(“dress up, wear”), Tocharian B wäs-, Old Armenian զգենում ‎(zgenum), Welsh gwisgo, Hittite waš-.

Verb

wear ‎(third-person singular simple present wears, present participle wearing, simple past wore, past participle worn)

  1. To carry or have equipped on or about one's body, as an item of clothing, equipment, decoration, etc.
    He's wearing some nice pants today.  She wore her medals with pride.  Please wear your seatbelt.  Can you wear makeup and sunscreen at the same time?  He was wearing his lunch after tripping and falling into the buffet.‎
    • 1906, Stanley J[ohn] Weyman, chapter I, in Chippinge Borough, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., OCLC 580270828:
      It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street. He wore shepherd's plaid trousers and the swallow-tail coat of the day, with a figured muslin cravat wound about his wide-spread collar.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 5, in The China Governess:
      ‘It's rather like a beautiful Inverness cloak one has inherited. Much too good to hide away, so one wears it instead of an overcoat and pretends it's an amusing new fashion.’
  2. To have or carry on one's person habitually, consistently; or, to maintain in a particular fashion or manner.
    He wears eyeglasses.  She wears her hair in braids.‎
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 10, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.
  3. To bear or display in one's aspect or appearance.
    She wore a smile all day.  He walked out of the courtroom wearing an air of satisfaction.‎
  4. (colloquial, with "it") To overcome one's reluctance and endure a (previously specified) situation.
    I know you don't like working with him, but you'll just have to wear it.‎
  5. To eat away at, erode, diminish, or consume gradually; to cause a gradual deterioration in; to produce (some change) through attrition, exposure, or constant use.
    You're going to wear a hole in the bottom of those shoes.  The water has slowly worn a channel into these rocks.  Long illness had worn the bloom from her cheeks.  Exile had worn the man to a shadow.‎
  6. (intransitive) To undergo gradual deterioration; become impaired; be reduced or consumed gradually due to any continued process, activity, or use.
    The tiles were wearing thin due to years of children's feet.‎
  7. To exhaust, fatigue, expend, or weary.
    His neverending criticism has finally worn my patience.  Toil and care soon wear the spirit.  Our physical advantage allowed us to wear the other team out and win.
  8. (intransitive) To last or remain durable under hard use or over time; to retain usefulness, value, or desirable qualities under any continued strain or long period of time; sometimes said of a person, regarding the quality of being easy or difficult to tolerate.
    Don't worry, this fabric will wear. These pants will last you for years.;emsp; This color wears so well. I must have washed this sweater a thousand times.  I have to say, our friendship has worn pretty well.  It's hard to get to know him, but he wears well.‎
  9. (intransitive, colloquial) (in the phrase "wearing on (someone)") To cause annoyance, irritation, fatigue, or weariness near the point of an exhaustion of patience.
    Her high pitched voice is really wearing on me lately.‎
  10. (intransitive, of time) To pass slowly, gradually or tediously.
    wear on, wear away.  As the years wore on, we seemed to have less and less in common.‎
  11. (nautical) To bring (a sailing vessel) onto the other tack by bringing the wind around the stern (as opposed to tacking when the wind is brought around the bow); to come round on another tack by turning away from the wind. Also written "ware". Past: weared, or wore/worn.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
See also

Noun

wear ‎(uncountable)

  1. (uncountable) (in combination) clothing
    footwear; outdoor wear; maternity wear
  2. (uncountable) damage to the appearance and/or strength of an item caused by use over time
    • 1895, H. G. Wells, The Time Machine Chapter X
      Now, I still think that for this box of matches to have escaped the wear of time for immemorial years was a strange, and for me, a most fortunate thing.
  3. (uncountable) fashion
    • Shakespeare
      Motley's the only wear.
Quotations
  • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:wear.
Related terms
Translations

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle English weren, werien, from Old English werian ‎(“to guard, keep, defend; ward off, hinder, prevent, forbid; restrain; occupy, inhabit; dam up; discharge obligations on (land)”), from Proto-Germanic *warjaną ‎(“to defend, protect, ward off”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- ‎(“to close, cover, protect, save, defend”). Cognate with Scots wer, weir ‎(“to defend, protect”), Dutch weren ‎(“to aver, ward off”), German wehren ‎(“to fight”), Swedish värja ‎(“to defend, ward off”), Icelandic verja ‎(“to defend”).

Pronunciation

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