wear
wer
Not putting it on, but keeping it on
The picture Something put on in the morning still on the body at night. Not the instant of putting it on, but the whole day of carrying it. PUT ON is the single moment of getting it on; WEAR is the time it stays on.
Where the picture shows up in wear
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Keeping clothes on
She wears a uniform at work.
ʃiː werz ə ˈjuːnɪfɔːrm æt wɜːrk
She has a uniform on at work.
A uniform stuck to the body from morning until evening.
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Keeping an object on you
He wears glasses for reading.
hiː werz ˈɡlɑːsɪz fɔːr ˈriːdɪŋ
He puts glasses on to read.
Glasses perched on the nose, going through the whole day along with it.
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Keeping an expression on
She wore a big smile all day.
ʃiː wɔːr ə bɪɡ smaɪl ɔːl deɪ
She had a big smile on all day.
A smile hanging on a face like a garment that will not come off.
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Keeping a hairstyle
She wears her hair short.
ʃiː werz hɜːr her ʃɔːrt
She keeps her hair short.
A short cut carried around in the same shape every day.
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Thinning from long use
The tires wore out after two years.
ðə ˈtaɪərz wɔːr aʊt ˈæftər tuː jɪrz
The tires were finished after two years.
Tread on a tire rubbed smooth from years of rolling.
All of it in one picture
WEAR is the picture of something staying on the body. Clothes stay on and you are in uniform; glasses stay on your nose and you wear glasses; an expression stays on the face and you wear a smile; a haircut stays the way it is and you wear your hair short. Stay on long enough and the surface thins, so wearing out is the same word. Every WEAR is about keeping, not about putting on.