Past Tense of Wear | Definition & Examples

The verb wear, meaning “be clothed in” or “degrade through use,” has the simple past tense wore and past participle worn. It is an irregular verb and doesn’t add “-ed” to form the past tense.

Although wear is irregular, it rhymes with and follows the same pattern as “bear,” meaning “give birth to,” and “tear,” meaning “rip.”

Past tense of wear in a sentence examples
Past tense Past participle
I’ll never forget the dress she wore on our first date! It was a special occasion, so I picked the shoes I had worn on our wedding day.
As the brakes wore down, they produced lots of dust. When Sheila opened the package, she could tell immediately that the dress had been worn already.

What is the past tense of wear?

The simple past tense of wear is wore. This is true whether it means “be clothed in” (e.g., “Simona wore a purple dress”) or “degrade through use” (e.g., “The friction wore through the fabric”).

Past tense of wear in a sentence examples
Our children laughed out loud when they saw the clothes we wore when we were younger.

Dad wore the expression of someone who really didn’t want to be there.

With every turn of the wheel, the brake pad wore thinner and thinner.

Note
When wear is being used figuratively, the tenses behave the same way. So we wear an expression (e.g., “Bethany wore a smile as broad as the Grand Canyon”), and circumstances can wear us out or wear us down (e.g., “The heat gradually wore us down to the point of exhaustion”).

Past participle of wear

The past participle of wear is worn, and it is used to form perfect tenses and the passive voice.

Past participle of wear in a sentence examples
By the end of the camp, the sneakers they had worn all week were ruined.

The frown that Prisha had worn at the start of the day was gone by lunchtime.

The christening gown was yellowed and delicate because it had been worn by three generations of babies.

Frequently asked questions about the past tense of wear

Is weared a word?

Weared is not a word in standard English except in sailing, when wear means “change tack by bringing the stern around.” The simple past of wear is wore, and the past participle is worn.

You might encounter “weared” in informal circumstances, but it is almost certain to be incorrect.

You can check your spelling and grammar with the QuillBot Grammar Checker.

Is wored a word?

Wored is not a word in standard English. For the verb wear, the simple past is wore and the past participle is worn.

You might find “wored” in nonstandard dialects, or used for humor, but it is not correct in formal English.

You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker if you aren’t sure if your writing is free of errors.

What is the past tense of wear clothes?

The past tense of wear clothes is wore clothes in the simple past. The past participle of wear is worn, and it is used for perfect tenses (e.g., “Pete had worn the same suit to every wedding for 10 years”) and the passive voice (e.g., “The clothes hadn’t been worn all winter and smelled musty”).

You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to check your writing for errors.

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Trevor Marshall, MSc

Trevor has a BA in English Literature & Language and an MSc in Applied Social Studies. He has been a teacher for 25 years, with 15 years experience teaching ESL alongside 1st language students.