ware

[ wair ]

/ wɛər /

noun

Usually wares.

articles of merchandise or manufacture; goods: a peddler selling his wares.
any intangible items, as services or products of artistic or intellectual creativity, that are salable: an actor advertising his wares.

a specified kind or class of merchandise or of manufactured article (usually used in combination): silverware; glassware. See also -ware.

pottery, or a particular kind of pottery: delft ware.

Archaeology. a group of ceramic types classified according to paste and texture, surface modification, as burnish or glaze, and decorative motifs rather than shape and color.

Origin of ware

before 1000; Middle English; Old English waru; cognate with German Ware

Words nearby ware

wardrobe malfunction, wardrobe mistress, wardrobe trunk, wardroom, wardship, ware, warehou, warehouse, warehouse receipt, warehouseman, warehouser

Definition for wares (2 of 4)

ware ²

[ wair ]

/ wɛər /

Archaic.

adjective

watchful, wary, or cautious.

aware; conscious.

verb (used with object), wared, war·ing.

to beware of (usually used in the imperative).

Origin of ware

before 900; Middle English (adj. and v.); Old English wær (adj.); cognate with German gewahr aware, Old Norse varr

Definition for wares (3 of 4)

ware ³

[ wair ]

/ wɛər /

verb (used with object), wared, war·ing. Scot. and North England.

to spend; expend.

Origin of ware

1300–50; Middle English < Old Norse verja to spend, invest

Definition for wares (4 of 4)

ware ⁴

[ wair ]

/ wɛər /

noun Scot. and North England.

the first season in the year; spring.

Origin of ware

⁴

1250–1300; Middle English < Old Norse vār spring; perhaps akin to Latin vēr (see vernal), Greek éar spring

Example sentences from the Web for wares

Take, for instance, Yiddish Mamma, a young Parisian brand that peddles its wares with love and humour.

Paris's Nouveau Yiddish Culture |Laurent David Samama |September 3, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The practice of prefacing a story with a brief written summary developed to help street hawkers sell their wares more effectively.

How the News Business Found Its Footing |Nick Romeo |June 22, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Nearly every presenter tonight makes a joke about having sampled the wares; not a single one elicits more than a few chuckles.

And The Escort of The Year Is… Backstage at The Sex Oscars |Scott Bixby |March 24, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
It also helps those who peddle it, because it makes them notorious and helps them sell their wares.

Why the Rush to Sell Gold Coins is Drowning Out Real Critiques of Obama |David Frum |April 1, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

Many celebrities opted to donate their wares to charity, and the extravagance—and value—of the bags have gone down over the years.

Oscar’s Bizarre Swag Bag: Condoms, Circus Training, and More |Kevin Fallon |February 21, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Beppo was a very different man from Signore Ripollo, nor had he a palace with a water-gate to show his wares.

My Friend the Chauffeur |C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson
This the critics allow me, and while they like my wares, they may dispraise my writing.

The Anglo-French Entente in the Seventeenth Century |Charles Bastide
My immediate first impulse is to protest against the inquisitor and to prefer the merchant who comes to offer me his wares.

Tragic Sense Of Life |Miguel de Unamuno
The shopkeepers stood in front and cried their wares, and besought customers.

The Complete Essays of C. D. Warner |Charles Dudley Warner
She followed me to where my wares were spread out under lee of a piece of cannon.

St. Ives |Robert Louis Stevenson

British Dictionary definitions for wares (1 of 4)

wares

/ (wɛəz) /

pl n

articles of manufacture considered as being for sale

any talent or asset regarded as a commercial or saleable commodity

(Caribbean) earthenware

British Dictionary definitions for wares (2 of 4)

ware ¹

/ (wɛə) /

noun (often in combination)

(functioning as singular) articles of the same kind or material glassware; silverware

porcelain or pottery of a specified type agateware; jasper ware

Word Origin for ware

Old English waru; related to Old Frisian were, Old Norse vara, Middle Dutch Ware

British Dictionary definitions for wares (3 of 4)

ware ²

/ (wɛə) archaic /