Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

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] Ten years on, the original concept was wearing well.

9 PHRASE 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 [usu cont] If your patience or temper is wearing thin , you are becoming annoyed and are likely to get angry soon. □  He was sympathetic at first but his patience soon wore thin.

11 PHRASE [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 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 on January 9, disheveled and much the worse for wear.

▸  wear away PHRASAL VERB If you wear something away or if it wears away , it becomes thin and eventually disappears because it is used a lot or rubbed a lot. □ [V P n] It had a saddle with springs sticking out, which wore away the seat of my pants. □ [V P ] The softer rock wears away. [Also V n P ]

▸  wear down

1 PHRASAL VERB If you wear something down or if it wears down , it becomes flatter or smoother as a result of constantly rubbing against something else. □ [V P n] Extreme changes in temperature can wear down the top layer of your skin. □ [V P ] The machines start to wear down, they don't make as many nuts and bolts as they used to. □ [V n P ] Elephants wear the tusk down faster than they can grow it.

2 PHRASAL VERB If you wear someone down , you make them gradually weaker or less determined until they eventually do what you want. □ [V P n] They hoped the waiting and the uncertainty would wear down my resistance. □ [V n P ] He believed that he could wear her down if he only asked often enough.

▸  wear off PHRASAL VERB If a sensation or feeling wears off , it disappears slowly until it no longer exists or has any effect. □ [V P ] For many the philosophy was merely a fashion, and the novelty soon wore off. □ [V P ] Now that the initial shock was wearing off, he was in considerable pain.

▸  wear on PHRASAL VERB If you say that time wears on , you mean that it passes, especially when it seems to pass slowly. □ [V P ] As the day wore on, Brand found himself increasingly impressed.

▸  wear out

1 PHRASAL VERB When something wears out or when you wear it out , it is used so much that it becomes thin or weak and unable to be used any more. □ [V P ] Every time she consulted her watch, she wondered if the batteries were wearing out. □ [V n P ] Horses used for long-distance riding tend to wear their shoes out more quickly. □ [V P n] He wore out his shoes wandering around Mexico City.