verb (used with object), wore, worn, wear·ing.
- 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.
- to have or use on the person habitually: to wear a wig.
- to bear or have in one’s aspect or appearance: to wear a smile; to wear an air of triumph.
- to cause (garments, linens, etc.) to deteriorate or change by wear: Hard use has worn these gloves.
- to impair, deteriorate, or consume gradually by use or any continued process: Long illness had worn the bloom from her cheeks.
- to waste or diminish gradually by rubbing, scraping, washing, etc.: The waves have worn these rocks.
- to make (a hole, channel, way, etc.) by such action.
- to bring about or cause a specified condition in (a person or thing) by use, deterioration, or gradual change: to wear clothes to rags; to wear a person to a shadow.
- to weary; fatigue; exhaust: Toil and care soon wear the spirit.
- to pass (time) gradually or tediously (usually followed by away or out): We wore the afternoon away in arguing.
- Nautical. to bring (a vessel) on another tack by turning until the wind is on the stern.
- British Dialect. to gather and herd (sheep or cattle) to a pen or pasture.