wear
/wâr/
intransitive verb
  1. To carry or have on one's person as covering, adornment, or protection.
    wearing a jacket; must wear a seat belt.
  2. To carry or have habitually on one's person, especially as an aid.
    wears glasses.
  3. To display in one's appearance.
    always wears a smile.
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition. More at Wordnik
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Accenthero
mail.accenthero.com › app › pronunciation-practice › english › american › wear
How to pronounce wear: examples and online exercises
To bring (a sailing vessel) onto the other tack by bringing the wind around the stern (as opposed to tacking when the wind is brought around the bow); to come round on another tack by turning away from the wind. Also written "ware". Past: weared, or wore/worn.
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Cambridge Dictionary
dictionary.cambridge.org › us › pronunciation › english › wear
How to pronounce WEAR in English
2 weeks ago - How to pronounce WEAR. How to say WEAR. Listen to the audio pronunciation in the Cambridge English Dictionary. Learn more.
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Speakmoreclearly
speakmoreclearly.com › home › video lesson: how to pronounce the difference between wear and were
VIDEO Lesson: How To Pronounce The Difference Between Wear And Were - speakmoreclearly.com
November 2, 2023 - Lately we’ve had a few students who’ve been confused about how to pronounce the difference between wear and were. The main difference is that in the word wear, the vowel says ‘air’ as in the air we breathe. In the word were, the vowel says ‘er’ as in the word bird.
Discussions

how do native english spearkers disttinguish the pronuciation of where and wear?
It’s always clear from context. There are many other words that are the same way. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/EnglishLearning
302
73
July 13, 2025
Do you pronounce: we're, were, where and wear, the same way?
I am from Chicago in the USA so this is how I would pronounce it: we're : weer ... the last part of this word when I say it is similar to the body part ear: https://voca.ro/6N4oc5w0loU were: wur ... when I say this word, the last part sounds like the beginning of earth: https://voca.ro/oiEINk3pkpU where/wear: wir (I'm not sure how to write with phonetic alphabet) but the last part sounds like the word air. These two sound the same when I say them: https://voca.ro/dlDBno6MEVR (where) https://voca.ro/mAXXm0bz31b (wear) Please let me know if that was confusing at all. Hope this helps! More on reddit.com
🌐 r/EnglishLearning
38
57
June 14, 2020
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YouGlish
youglish.com › pronounce › wear › english › us
Wear | 43997 pronunciations of Wear in American English
Self-record & review: Record yourself saying 'wear' in sentences. Listen back to identify areas for improvement. YouTube Pronunciation Guides: Search YouTube for how to pronounce 'wear' in English.
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Promova
promova.com › how-to-pronounce › wear
How to Pronounce wear in English | Promova
Discover over 100,000 words and easily learn English pronunciation online! Find how to pronounce a word and practice it in our free word pronouncer for English learners! ... (nou) impairment resulting from long use (nou) a covering designed to be worn on a person's body (nou) the act of having on your person as a covering or adornment ... The man likes to wear shirts with collars.
Find elsewhere
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Encyclopedia Britannica
britannica.com › dictionary › eb › audio
How to Pronounce wear - (Audio) | Britannica Dictionary
Meta description: Hear the pronunciation of wear in American English, spoken by real native speakers. From North America's leading language experts, Britannica Dictionary
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Cambridge Dictionary
dictionary.cambridge.org › us › pronunciation › english › wear-and-tear
How to pronounce WEAR AND TEAR in English
2 weeks ago - How to pronounce WEAR AND TEAR. How to say WEAR AND TEAR. Listen to the audio pronunciation in the Cambridge English Dictionary. Learn more.
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Deep English
deepenglish.com › home › how to pronounce
How to Pronounce Wears
April 11, 2025 - She wears a red dress to school every day. w.eəɹz · The market sells handmade wares. Learn pronunciation → · wɑR · The history book covers several wars. Learn pronunciation → · waɪər · The electrician fixed the damaged wires. Learn pronunciation → ·
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Grammarly
grammarly.com › commonly-confused-words › where-vs-wear
Where vs. Wear: What's the Difference?
As a noun (especially in the context of 'wear and tear'): 'The car has a lot of wear considering its age.' Wear pronunciation: Pronounced as /we(ə)r/, rhymes with 'bear'.
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Cambridge Dictionary
dictionary.cambridge.org › us › dictionary › english › wear
WEAR | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary
October 29, 2025 - See all collocations with wear · What is the pronunciation of wear? in Chinese (Traditional) 在身上, 穿(衣服), 戴(首飾等)… · See more · in Chinese (Simplified) 在身上, 穿(衣服), 戴(首饰等)… · See more ...
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How to Pronounce
howtopronounce.com › home › wear
Wear Pronunciation
September 21, 2025 - How to say wear in English? Pronunciation of wear with 25 audio pronunciations, 73 synonyms, 18 meanings, 1 antonym, 19 sentences and more for wear.
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ELSA
elsaspeak.com › en › learn-english › how-to-pronounce › wear
How to Pronounce WEAR in American English | ELSA Speak
Practice pronunciation of the word wear with ELSA advanced technology and say wear like Americans.
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WordReference
forum.wordreference.com › english only › english only
pronunciation: wear / we're | WordReference Forums
April 30, 2018 - "Wear" and "we're" sound differently. "Wear" sounds the same as "where" (homophones). "We're" and "weir" are homophones too. ... I agree with VicNicSor. (Remember that the 'h' in 'where' is not pronounced.)
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Wiktionary
en.wiktionary.org › wiki › wear
wear - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Cognate to Sanskrit वस्ते (váste), Ancient Greek ἕννυμι (hénnumi, “put on”), Latin vestis (“garment”) (English vest), Albanian vesh (“dress up, wear”), Tocharian B wäs-, Old Armenian զգենում (zgenum), Welsh gwisgo, Hittite 𒉿𒀸- (waš-). Originally a weak verb (i.e. with a past tense in -ed), it became irregular during the Middle English period by analogy with verbs like beren (whence bear) and teren (whence tear). [edit] enPR: wâr · (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /wɛə/ (Standard Southern British) IPA(key): /wɛː/ (General American) IPA(key):