(wâr) v. wore, worn, wear·ing v.t.
1. To carry or have on the person as a garment, ornament, etc.
2. To have or bear on the person habitually or as a practice: He wears a derby.
3. To have in one's appearance or aspect; exhibit: He wears a scowl.
4. To bear habitually in a specified manner; carry: He wears his age well; She wears her hair in a chignon.
5. To display or fly: A ship wears its colors.
6. To impair, waste, or consume by use or constant action.
7. To cause or produce by scraping, rubbing, etc.: to wear a hole in a coat.
8. To bring to a specified condition by wear: to wear a sleeve to tatters.
9. To exhaust the strength or patience of; weary.
—v.i.
10. To be impaired or diminished gradually by use, rubbing, etc.
11. To withstand the effects of use, wear, etc., as specified: The vest wears well.
12. To become as specified from use or attrition: His patience is wearing thin.
13. To pass gradually or tediously: with on or away. The day wears on.
—to wear out
1. To make or become worthless by use: The cloak is worn out.
2. To waste gradually; use up: He wears out patience.
3. To tire or exhaust.
—noun
1. The act of wearing, or the state of being worn: the worse for wear.
2. The material or articles of dress worn or made to be worn; a fashion: silk for summer wear; also in compounds: footwear, underwear.
3. The destructive effect of use or work; impairment from use or time.
4. Capacity for resistance to use or impairment; endurance; lasting quality; durability. ♦ Homophone: ware. [OE werian]
—wear′a·ble adjective
—wear′er noun Synonyms (verb): abrade, chafe, consume, deteriorate, diminish, fret, fritter, impair, rub, tire, waste.

(wâr) v. wore, worn, wear·ing Naut. v.t.
To change the course of (a vessel), so as to bring the wind to the other side, by turning it through an arc in which its head points momentarily directly to leeward.
—v.i. To go about with the wind astern. Compare TACK¹. ♦ Homophone: ware. [Prob. alter. of VEER¹; infl. in form by wear¹]