Meaning & use
ware
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Meanings
noununcountable
Articles of a particular kind that are made for use or sale, usually in compounds such as glassware.
Grammar: Mostly used as the end of a compound: kitchenware, glassware, hardware.
Patterns
- kitchen ware
The shop sells fine glassware and kitchen ware.
Her studio makes handmade pottery ware.
The museum displays Roman earthenware.
nounusually pluralold-fashioned
The things a seller offers for sale, especially from a stall or market.
Grammar: Almost always plural: wares.
Patterns
- sell your wares
The merchants spread out their wares in the market.
She travels from town to town selling her wares.
The stalls displayed wares from across the region.
verbintransitivearchaic
Be careful; look out, used as a warning in old English.
Grammar: Archaic imperative, mainly as beware.
Ware the dog, the old sign read.
Ware, the ice is thin, the guide shouted.
Word forms
| plural | wares |
|---|
Common combinations
- peddle one's wares
- The vendor peddled his wares along the beach.
- display one's wares
- The artisans displayed their wares at the fair.
- silverware
- She polished the silverware before dinner.
- glassware
- The glassware sparkled on the shelf.
- kitchenware
- The store sells all sorts of kitchenware.
- earthenware
- They bought a bowl of earthenware from the market.
Synonyms and how they differ
- goods
- Goods is the everyday word for items for sale and is more widely used than ware.
- merchandise
- Merchandise is more formal and covers items in a shop or for trade.
- products
- Products covers anything made or sold, including services and digital items.
- stock
- Stock refers to what a shop holds, not what it sells in particular.
Word family
Commonly confused: ware or wear? ware or where?
ware vs wear
Wear is a verb for having clothes on or being damaged by use, and sounds exactly like ware in many accents.
ware vs where
Where is a question word about place, though it can sound the same as ware.
Practice
The potter set out her ____ on a table at the market.
Choose one answer.
Wares means goods for sale. Wears is the verb form, wheres is not a standard word and warrens are rabbit burrows.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ware”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.