How to Use wear away in a Sentence

wear away

verb
  • Time has worn away the importance of the art.
    — Vivian Yee, New York Times, 20 June 2026
  • Look for curled edges, bare spots where granules have worn away and any flashing that looks lifted or bent.
    — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Apr. 2026
  • Do not use a soaking wet mop or harsh scrubbing pads that can scratch the floor or wear away the finish.
    — Emily Benda Gaylord, The Spruce, 30 Dec. 2025
  • If they are made of iron or steel, the fixtures begin to rust as soon as the plating is chipped, scratched, or worn away.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 3 Mar. 2026
  • If the stripping is old and worn away, feel free to replace it with your preferred material.
    — Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Only polish as needed since the plating can start to wear away with frequent polishing.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 12 Nov. 2025
  • As the rocks eroded and wore away into their iconic shapes, Native people hunted, gathered and farmed beside them.
    — Alia Beard Rau, USA Today, 10 June 2026
  • At high-society balls, an artist might be commissioned to chalk the floor itself in elaborate patterns that the dancers’ feet wore away over the course of the evening.
    — Literary Hub, 4 Aug. 2025
  • Almost one in four adults over 40 has knee osteoarthritis, a common knee issue that occurs when cartilage in joints wears away from use.
    — Stephanie Brown, Verywell Health, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Support for capital punishment has been worn away by an accumulation of forces.
    — Pamela Colloff, ProPublica, 30 June 2026
  • When the seal of a flapper, for example, wears away, the seal can't keep water from seeping out of the tank and into the bowl, which makes your toilet constantly run.
    — Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 24 May 2026
  • As the rocks eroded and wore away into their iconic shapes, there were Indigenous people who hunted, gathered and farmed beside them.
    — Staff, USA Today, 8 June 2026
  • And while scrubbing grout feels productive, aggressive pressure can wear away the protective sealant and damage the grout lines themselves.
    — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Kansas City Star, 11 May 2026
  • Harsh scrubbing can wear away the protective sealants that keep water and bacteria out, damaging grout lines and shortening their lifespan.
    — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 12 May 2026
  • Rainwater reacts with carbon dioxide in the air and becomes slightly acidic, wearing away at rock exposed on the Earth’s surface.
    — Peter Brannen, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Over billions of years, wind erosion wore away the weaker surrounding material, leaving behind the lattice of tougher ridges.
    — Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 27 Feb. 2026
  • Protective coatings wear away with time and use, making regular reapplication a good way to keep winter boots in good condition.
    — Jolie Kerr, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Dec. 2025
  • Being a softer metal, tin linings can also wear away over time, requiring occasional re-tinning.
    — Wilder Davies, Bon Appetit Magazine, 13 Apr. 2026
  • Just to the left of Trouvelot lies another large basin that appears even older and more heavily eroded, with its rim almost completely worn away.
    — Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 6 Mar. 2026
  • Damaging Tooth Enamel Acidic drinks can slowly wear away your tooth enamel (the outer layer that protects your teeth).
    — Merve Ceylan, Health, 22 Nov. 2025
  • Over the years in the Straits of Mackinac, ships' anchors have struck the pipeline, sections have needed additional support, and protective coating has been damaged or worn away.
    — Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Cuba’s socialist utopianism wore away gradually.
    — Quico Toro, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026
  • The constant wave energy from the vast Pacific, combined with upwards of 400 inches of annual rainfall, is wearing away the mountains.
    — Brianna Randall, Forbes.com, 30 May 2026
  • Head coach Mike McDaniel’s tenure in Miami is starting to wear away, and there’s been a lot of speculation that players haven’t been respecting him.
    — Greg Liodice, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025
  • For much of the last decade, Mustaine has experienced significant discomfort since the cartilage in the tips of his fingers has worn away from decades of frenzied playing, causing the bones to scrape together.
    — Jon Wiederhorn, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2026
  • Multicolor gemstone studs line the collar and toe box as a continuation of the same motif on prior sneakers, and a black canvas upper with distressing can be worn away to reveal a checkerboard pattern underneath.
    — Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
  • Recent decisions by Paramount’s new management have only exacerbated the situation, and Weiss’ is likely to further wear away at its journalism bona fides.
    — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 22 Dec. 2025
  • After decision makers realize this shortcoming, confidence in the AI's capabilities can wear away rapidly.
    — Mario Baumgärtner, Forbes.com, 26 Feb. 2026
  • Treating these small injuries, often caused by sports injuries, can stop the progression toward osteoarthritis, the debilitating condition that occurs when cartilage wears away, causing severe pain and inflammation in the joints.
    — Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2026
  • In addition to the wearers who experienced holes in the toe, a Reddit user shared an account of putting the shoe through a single skate session only to find that the SB Air Max 95’s eyelets had begun wearing away.
    — Riley Jones, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wear away.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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