from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Wear \Wear\, v. 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.
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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.
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Away, I say; time wears. --Shak.
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Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou and this
people that is with thee. --Ex. xviii.
18.
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His stock of money began to wear very low. --Sir W.
Scott.
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The family . . . wore out in the earlier part of the
century. --Beaconsfield.
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{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.
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