knitwear vs wear

knitwear and wear both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
knitwear	Yes	No	No	No
wear	Yes	No	Yes	No

As nouns, wear is a hypernym of knitwear; that is, wear is a word with a broader meaning than knitwear:

Other hypernyms of knitwear include article of clothing, clothing, habiliment, vesture, wearable.

knitwear (noun)	wear (noun)
knitted clothing	the act of having on your person as a covering or adornment
	a covering designed to be worn on a person's body
	impairment resulting from long use

knitwear (verb)	wear (verb)
	be dressed in
	put clothing on one's body
	have or show an appearance of
	exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress
	have on one's person
	deteriorate through use or stress
	go to pieces
	last and be usable
	have in one's aspect; wear an expression of one's attitude or personality