1To put on clothing or footwear worn on the lower body — trousers, skirts, shoes, socks, etc. (e.g., 靴を履く 'put on shoes', ズボンを履く 'put on pants'). For garments like trousers, the kanji 穿く is also sometimes used.
毎朝、靴を履いて仕事に出かける。
Every morning, I put on my shoes and head off to work.
寒くなってきたので、厚手のタイツを履いた。
It's gotten cold, so I put on thick tights.
このズボン、洗濯したら少し縮んで履きにくくなった。
After washing these pants, they shrank a bit and became hard to put on.
新しいスニーカーを履いて公園を走った。
I went running in the park wearing my new sneakers.
2An older usage meaning to affix or wear (a sword) at the waist. In this sense, the word is usually written with the kanji 佩く or 帯く.
武士は腰に刀を佩いて歩いていた。
The samurai walked about with a sword affixed at his waist.
王は儀式のたびに黄金の冠を帯いていたという。
It's said the king wore a golden crown at every ceremony.
3(Archaic) An old usage meaning to string or affix a bowstring to a bow. It is not used in modern Japanese at all and appears only in classical literature.