wear

wear

A n ¢

1 (clothing) vêtements mpl ; children's/beach wear vêtements pour enfants/de plage ; in beach/sports wear en tenue f de plage/de sport ;

2 (use) for everyday wear de tous les jours ; for summer wear pour l'été ; to stretch with wear [shoes] s'assouplir à l'usage ; I've had three years' wear out of these boots ces bottes m'ont duré trois ans ; there's some wear left in these tyres ces pneus ne sont pas encore usés ; there's still a few months' wear in this shirt cette chemise peut encore servir quelques mois ;

3 (damage) usure f (on de) ; wear and tear usure f ; fair ou normal wear and tear usure normale ; to stand up to wear résister à l'usure ; to get hard ou heavy wear servir beaucoup ; there are signs of wear on the brake linings les garnitures de freins sont un peu usées ; to show signs of wear commencer à être usé ; to look the worse for wear (damaged) être abîmé ; to be somewhat the worse for wear (drunk) être ivre ; (tired) être épuisé.

B vtr (prét wore ; pp worn)

1 (be dressed in) porter [garment, jewellery, earphones etc] ; to wear blue s'habiller en bleu ; to wear one's hair long/short avoir les cheveux longs/courts ; to wear one's hair in a bun porter un chignon ; to wear a ribbon in one's hair avoir un ruban dans les cheveux ; to wear one's skirts long s'habiller long ; to wear one's clothes loose aimer les vêtements lâches ;

2 (put on) mettre [garment, jewellery etc] ; what are you wearing tonight? qu'est-ce que tu vas mettre ce soir? ; what should I wear? qu'est-ce que je devrais mettre? ; I haven't got a thing to wear je n'ai rien à me mettre ;

3 (use) mettre [perfume, sun-cream] ; to wear make-up se maquiller ; she's wearing make-up elle est maquillée ;

4 (display) he ou his face wore a puzzled frown il fronçait les sourcils d'un air perplexe ; her face wore a smug expression elle avait un air plein de suffisance ;

5 (damage by use) user [carpet, clothes, clutch, component] ; to be worn to a thread être usé jusqu'à la corde ; to wear a hole in trouer [garment, sheet] ; to wear a track/a groove in creuser un sentier/une rigole dans ;

6 ○ (accept) tolérer [behaviour, attitude] ; accepter [excuse].

C vi (prét wore ; pp worn)

1 (become damaged) [carpet, garment, shoes] s'user ; my patience is wearing thin je commence à être à bout de patience ;

2 (withstand use) a carpet/fabric that will wear well un tapis/tissu solide ; he's worn very well fig il est encore bien pour son âge.

Phrasal verbs

■ wear away :

▶ wear away [inscription] s'effacer ; [tread, cliff, façade] s'user ;

▶ wear away [sth], wear [sth] away [water] ronger ; [footsteps, friction, rubbing] user.

■ wear down :

▶ wear down [heel, step, tread] s'user ; to be worn down être usé ;

▶ wear down [sth], wear [sth] down

1 (damage) [friction, person, water] user ;

2 fig (weaken) saper [resistance, resolve, will] ;

▶ wear [sb] down épuiser.

■ wear off :

▶ wear off

1 (lose effect) [anaesthetic, drug, effect] se dissiper ; [feeling, sensation] passer ; the novelty will soon wear off ça n'aura bientôt plus l'attrait de la nouveauté ;

2 (come off) [paint, gold plate] s'effacer ;

▶ wear [sth] off, wear off [sth] faire partir [paint, varnish] ; effacer [inscription].

■ wear on [day, evening] s'avancer ; as the evening wore on à mesure que la soirée s'avançait.

■ wear out :

▶ wear out [clothes, shoes, equipment] s'user ; my patience is beginning to wear out je commence à perdre patience ;

▶ wear out [sth], wear [sth] out user [clothes, shoes, mechanism] ; to wear out one's welcome lasser l'amabilité de ses hôtes ;

▶ wear [sb] out épuiser.

■ wear through :

▶ wear through [elbow, trousers] se trouer ; [sole, metal, fabric] se percer.

Big English-French dictionary. 2003.