wear off

wear  (wâr)

v. wore (wôr, wr), worn (wôrn, wrn), wear·ing, wears

v.tr.

1. To carry or have on the person as covering, adornment, or protection: wearing a jacket; must wear a seat belt.

2. To carry or have habitually on the person, especially as an aid: wears glasses.

3. To display in one's appearance: always wears a smile.

4. To bear, carry, or maintain in a particular manner: wears her hair long.

5. To fly or display (colors). Used of a ship, jockey, or knight.

6. To damage, diminish, erode, or consume by long or hard use, attrition, or exposure. Often used with away, down, or off: rocks worn away by the sea; shoes worn down at the heels.

7. To produce by constant use, attrition, or exposure: eventually wore hollows in the stone steps.

8. To bring to a specified condition by long use or attrition: wore the clothes to rags; pebbles worn smooth.

9. To fatigue, weary, or exhaust: Your incessant criticism has worn my patience.

10. Nautical To make (a sailing ship) come about with the wind aft.

v.intr.

1.

a. To last under continual or hard use: a fabric that will wear.

b. To last through the passage of time: a friendship that wears well.

2. To break down or diminish through use or attrition: The rear tires began to wear.

3. To pass gradually or tediously: The hours wore on.

4. Nautical To come about with stern to windward.

n.

1. The act of wearing or the state of being worn; use: The coat has had heavy wear.

2. Clothing, especially of a particular kind or for a particular use. Often used in combination: rainwear; footwear.

3. Gradual impairment or diminution resulting from use or attrition.

4. The ability to withstand impairment from use or attrition: The engine has plenty of wear left.

Phrasal Verbs:

wear down

To break down or exhaust by relentless pressure or resistance.

wear off

To diminish gradually in effect: The drug wore off.

wear out

1. To make or become unusable through long or heavy use.

2. To use up or consume gradually.

3. To exhaust; tire.

4. Chiefly Southern U.S. To punish by spanking.

Idioms:

wear the pants/trousers Informal

To exercise controlling authority in a household.

wear thin

1. To be weakened or eroded gradually: Her patience is wearing thin.

2. To become less convincing, acceptable, or popular, as through repeated use: excuses that are wearing thin.

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[Middle English weren, from Old English werian; see wes-² in Indo-European roots.]

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wearer n.

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wear off

vb (adverb)

1. (intr) to decrease in intensity gradually the pain will wear off in an hour

2. to disappear or cause to disappear gradually through exposure, use, etc. the pattern on the ring had been worn off

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	wear off - deteriorate through use or stress; "The constant friction wore out the cloth" wear thin, wear down, wear out, wear deteriorate - become worse or disintegrate; "His mind deteriorated" ablate - wear away through erosion or vaporization scuff - get or become scuffed; "These patent leather shoes scuffed"
	2.	wear off - diminish, as by friction; "Erosion wore away the surface" wear away remove, take away, withdraw, take - remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract; "remove a threat"; "remove a wrapper"; "Remove the dirty dishes from the table"; "take the gun from your pocket"; "This machine withdraws heat from the environment" abrade, abrase, corrade, rub down, rub off - wear away

Translations

? wear off

vi

(= diminish) → nachlassen, sich verlieren; don’t worry, it’ll wear off! → keine Sorge, das gibt sich ? novelty

(= disappear) (paint) → abgehen; (plating, gilt) → sich abwetzen