(~s, ~ing, wore, worn)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
When you ~ something such as clothes, shoes, or jewellery, you have them on your body or on part of your body.
He was ~ing a brown uniform...
I sometimes ~ contact lenses...
She can’t make her mind up what to ~.
VERB: V n, V n, V n
2.
If you ~ your hair or beard in a particular way, you have it cut or styled in that way.
She wore her hair in a long braid...
He wore a full moustache.
VERB: V n prep/adv, V n
3.
If you ~ a particular expression, that expression is on your face and shows the emotions that you are feeling.
When we drove through the gates, she wore a look of amazement...
VERB: V n
4.
You use ~ to refer to clothes that are suitable for a certain time or place. For example, evening ~ is clothes suitable for the evening.
The shop stocks an extensive range of beach ~...
N-UNCOUNT: supp N
5.
Wear is the amount or type of use that something has over a period of time.
You’ll get more ~ out of a hat if you choose one in a neutral colour...
= use
N-UNCOUNT
6.
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 ~.
N-UNCOUNT
7.
If something ~s, 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 ~...
Your horse needs new shoes if the shoe has worn thin or smooth.
VERB: V, V adj
8.
You can use ~ to talk about how well something lasts over a period of time. For example, if something ~s well, it still seems quite new or useful after a long time or a lot of use.
Ten years on, the original concept was ~ing well.
VERB: V adv
9.
If one person in a couple, especially the woman, ~s the pants, or in British English ~s the trousers, they are the one who makes all the decisions. (INFORMAL)
She may give the impression that she ~s the trousers but it’s Tim who makes the final decisions.
PHRASE: V inflects
10.
If your patience or temper is ~ing thin, you are becoming annoyed and are likely to get angry soon.
Her husband was sympathetic at first but his patience soon wore thin.
PHRASE: V inflects, usu cont
11.
If you say that something is ~ing 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 ~ thin.
PHRASE: V inflects, usu cont
12.
If you say that someone is the worse for ~, 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 on January 9, disheveled and much the worse for ~.
PHRASE: v-link PHR