Wear & wear have different definitions. To wear means to have clothing, jewelry, or accessories on one’s body. Ware refers to manufactured goods or products, especially those available for sale.
The words “wear” and “ware” are often used interchangeably by writers. The truth is…that is not grammatically correct. At first glance, these words seem to be spelled the same, but they have different meanings.
Using the wrong word can be distracting and leave your audience confused. In this post, we’ll break down the difference between wear vs ware so that you can choose correctly.
What’s The Difference: Wear vs Ware
How To Use Ware?
Ware is a word that we use quite frequently, though we may not be aware of it. Ware refers to goods or materials. It is often used in the plural, as in “wares for sale.” We use this word in many different contexts. Just like in the difference between “to cute” and “too cute”, spelling can make a huge difference in the meaning of a sentence.
- For instance, we might say that someone is “selling their wares” at a market. This means that they are selling goods or materials.
Some other common types of ware include:
- Tableware
- Glassware
- Software
What Are The Synonyms For Ware?
Here are the synonyms for “ware”.
| Synonyms for ‘Ware’ | Example Sentence |
|---|---|
| goods | The store offers a variety of kitchen goods. |
| merchandise | This shop specializes in imported merchandise. |
| commodities | The market is full of various commodities. |
| products | We offer the latest tech products. |
| items | Our catalog features an array of useful items. |
| stock | The stock in our warehouse is quite extensive. |
How To Use Wear?
“Wear” is a diverse word that can be used in a variety of ways depending on the context of the conversation.It can even be used as different parts of speech in a sentence.
- Noun – “Wear” can be used to mean clothing. For example, “I put on my outdoor wear before going on a walk.” Or, “When a woman becomes pregnant, she shops for maternity wear.” A person’s particular fashion says a lot about their personality.
- Compound Words – “Wear” in noun form is normally made into a compound word. For example, “underwear, outerwear, sleepwear, beachwear, nightwear, and streetwear. You could also use wear as a compound verb. If you don’t know what is a compound verb, then read our guide!
- Verb – “Wear” can also be a verb meaning to put clothing on one’s body or carry on one’s person habitually. For example, “I wear gym shorts when I go out for a run.” However, it can also mean to degrade or undergo gradual deterioration.
Just like we saw in our article on what does good morning mean, spelling makes a huge difference. Homophones are especially tricky! Pay close attention to your word choice as a writer.
What Are The Synonyms For Wear?
Here are the synonyms for “wear”.
| Synonyms for ‘Wear’ | Example Sentence |
|---|---|
| don | She loves to don elegant dresses for special occasions. |
| sport | He decided to sport his new jacket today. |
| exhibit | The museum exhibits costumes from different eras. |
| use | I use this hat when I go hiking. |
| adorn | She adorned her outfit with a beautiful scarf. |
| attire | For the interview, he chose to attire himself in a suit. |
Wear Off or Ware Off?
The two phrases might look similar, but they have very different meanings. Take “due to” or do to” for example. “Wear off” means to gradually disappear or become less effective. Use our proofreading & editing checklist to avoid making spelling mistakes like this!
- For example, you might say “My sleeping medication must be starting to wear off because I no longer feel tired.”
What about the past tense?
The past tense of the phrase “wear off” is “worn off”.
- “I need some more medicine. The pills I took this morning have finally worn out.”
In this sentence, the phrase “worn off” is used to indicate that the person no longer feels the effects of the medicine. So, just like the phrase besides the point or beside the point, spelling can make a huge difference!
FAQs – Ware vs Wear
There is a company called ‘Ware Clothing’. However, you cannot ware new clothes! Ware is a noun. It is grammatically correct to say that you “wear clothes”.
Wear down is the correct verb form. To wear means to gradually reduce the size, effectiveness, condition, or value of something. For example, you might say “my breaks have started to wear down over the last few years.”
Where, wear, and wear are all homophones. In other words, they are all pronounced the exact same. Take grateful & greatful for example. Although they sound they same, all three words have different meanings and are used in different contexts.
Ware is a real English word that acts as a collective noun. Most commonly, ware refers to goods or articles offered for sale (i.e merchandise). For example, “I love going to garage sales to check out all the ware on display.” Ware is also used to form many compound words. For example, “I am going to the mall today to buy some kitchenware.” You cannot say ware to reference putting on clothing. You would instead say “I am wearing yellow clothing.”
The word “deteriorate” means to become worse, to decline in quality, or to fall into a state of disrepair. Some other words that have similar meanings are “to erode”, “to crumble”, and “to rot”. You might say, “wow this pipe needs to be replaced. It is clear it has started to deteriorate over the years.”
The Bottom Line
Even experienced writers can get confused by the words “wear” and “ware”. If you are trying to use a verb, then you are probably looking to use “wear”. If you are referring to merchandise, “ware” is your word. And if you can’t get your head around this spelling rule, try our Spell Checker.