- wear
- [[t]we͟ə(r)[/t]]
♦♦1) VERB When you wear something such as clothes, shoes, or jewellery, you have them on your body or on part of your body.
[V n] He was wearing a brown uniform...
[V n] I sometimes wear contact lenses...
[V n] She can't make her mind up what to wear.
2) VERB If you wear your hair or beard in a particular way, you have it cut or styled in that way.[V n prep/adv] She wore her hair in a long braid...
[V n] He wore a full moustache.
3) VERB If you wear a particular expression, that expression is on your face and shows the emotions that you are feeling.[V n] When we drove through the gates, she wore a look of amazement...
[V n] Millson's face wore a satisfied expression.
4) N-UNCOUNT: supp N You use wear to refer to clothes that are suitable for a certain time or place. For example, evening wear is clothes suitable for the evening.The shop stocks an extensive range of beach wear...
Bring informal casual wear.
5) N-UNCOUNT Wear is the amount or type of use that something has over a period of time.You'll get more wear out of a hat if you choose one in a neutral colour...
Rugs in the bedrooms got much less wear.
Syn:6) N-UNCOUNT Wear is the damage or change that is caused by something being used a lot or for a long time....a large, well-upholstered armchair which showed signs of wear.
7) VERB If something wears, it becomes thinner or weaker because it is constantly being used over a long period of time.The stone steps, dating back to 1855, are beginning to wear...
[V adj] Your horse needs new shoes if the shoe has worn thin or smooth.
8) VERB You can use wear to talk about how well something lasts over a period of time. For example, if something wears well, it still seems quite new or useful after a long time or a lot of use.[V adv] Casual shoes need to wear well...
[V adv] Ten years on, the original concept was wearing well.
9) PHRASE: V inflects If one person in a couple, especially the woman, wears the pants, or in British English wears the trousers, they are the one who makes all the decisions. [INFORMAL]She may give the impression that she wears the trousers but it's Tim who makes the final decisions.
10) PHRASE: V inflects, usu cont If your patience or temper is wearing thin, you are becoming annoyed and are likely to get angry soon.Her husband was sympathetic at first but his patience soon wore thin.
11) PHRASE: V inflects, usu cont If you say that something is wearing thin, you mean that people do not find it funny or interesting any more and are becoming annoyed with it, because they have seen or heard it so many times.Some of Wilson's eccentricities are beginning to wear thin.
12) PHRASE: v-link PHR If you say that someone is the worse for wear, you mean that they are tired, ill, or in a bad state because they have been very active, been through a difficult experience, or been drinking alcohol. [INFORMAL]He arrived in Britain on January 9, disheveled and much the worse for wear.
Phrasal Verbs:- wear off- wear on- wear out
English dictionary. 2008.
