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to wear sunscreen

to wear sunscreen

7 2.6
To put sunscreen on your skin to protect it from the sun
  • phrasal verb
  • /wɛr ˈsʌnˌskrin/
translation icon : usar protector solar
  • It's important to wear sunscreen to protect your skin from harmful UV rays when you spend time outdoors.
  • wear sunscreen with SPF
  • wear sunscreen every day
  • always wear sunscreen

Avoid DNA damage, wear sunscreen, avoid X-rays and all that sort of stuff.

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Examples

  • If you plan on going in the sun, wear sunscreen and a cap.

    Blog text (9)
  • You should make sure to wear sunscreen any time you are exposed to the sun.

    Blog text (19)
  • If you are going to be out in the sun for a long time, make sure to wear sunscreen.

    Blog text (5)
  • Always wear sunscreen to prevent damage to your skin caused by harmful sun rays.

    Blog text (16)
  • I live in LA and I have to wear sunscreen every day, even if it's cloudy.

  • Don't forget to wear sunscreen, okay?

  • It bears saying before we even get started: Wear sunscreen and drink a lot of water.

    Blog text (1)
  • Of course, every dermatologist and esthetician I have met has told me the same thing: if you do nothing else, wear sunscreen, drink a lot of water, and take off your makeup every night.

    Blog text (7)
  • Before heading to the beach, don't forget to wear sunscreen to prevent sunburn.

  • Doctors recommend that you wear sunscreen every day to maintain healthy skin.

Synonyms

to sunscreen
vsto wear sunscreen
1 3.1

To put cream on your skin to protect it from the sun

emphasizes keeping sun protection on skin to prevent sunburn

Surface Forms

wear sunscreen infinitive
wearing sunscreen present participle
wears sunscreen third person singular
worn sunscreen past participle

Morphology

wear + sunscreen

The meaning is directly and transparently derived from 'wear' (to have something on) plus 'sunscreen' (a topical sun-protection cream): a learner who knows both words can infer it means to have/apply sunscreen on the skin. This follows a common verb+noun composition and is cross-linguistically natural, so a B1 learner would reliably understand it without prior exposure.

Etymology

The phrase wear sunscreen comes from the simple idea of putting sunscreen on your skin before going out in the sun. Think of the lotion as a thin shield that stops burning, so it means 'to protect your skin from the sun'.