Bare Definition & Meaning

American

British

Usage

Related Words

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms bare 1 American [bair] / bɛər /

adjective

barer, barest

1. without covering or clothing; naked; nude.

   bare legs.

   Synonyms: undressed

2. without the usual furnishings, contents, etc..

   bare walls.

   Synonyms: barren, empty, stark, plain

3. open to view; unconcealed; undisguised.

   his bare dislike of neckties.

4. unadorned; bald; plain.

   the bare facts.

5. (of cloth) napless or threadbare.

6. scarcely or just sufficient; mere.

   the bare necessities of life.

7. Obsolete. with the head uncovered; bareheaded.

verb (used with object)

bared, baring

1. to open to view; reveal or divulge.

   to bare one's arms; to bare damaging new facts.

   Synonyms: expose, uncover

bare 2 American [bair] / bɛər /

verb

Archaic.

1. simple past tense of bear.

bare 1 British / bɛə /

adjective

1. unclothed; exposed: used esp of a part of the body

2. without the natural, conventional, or usual covering or clothing

   a bare tree

3. lacking appropriate furnishings, etc

   a bare room

4. unembellished; simple

   the bare facts

5. (prenomial) just sufficient; mere

   he earned the bare minimum

6. without a weapon or tool

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

1. (tr) to make bare; uncover; reveal

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 bare 2 British / bɛə /

verb

1. archaic a past tense of bear 1

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What else does bare mean? Bare is UK slang for very or lots of.

Related Words

Bare, stark, barren share the sense of lack or absence of something that might be expected. Bare, the least powerful in connotation of the three, means lack of expected or usual coverings, furnishings, or embellishments: bare floor, feet, head. Stark implies extreme severity or desolation and resultant bleakness or dreariness: a stark landscape; a stark, emotionless countenance. Barren carries a strong sense of sterility and oppressive dullness: barren fields; a barren relationship. See mere 1.

Other Word Forms

• bareness noun
• barish adjective

Etymology

Origin of bare

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English bær; cognate with Old Frisian ber, Dutch baar, Old Saxon, Old High German, German bar, Old Norse berr; akin to Armenian bok “naked,” Lithuanian bãsas, Russian bosóĭ “barefoot”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If you can’t manage the maximum contribution, the bare minimum Clark recommends setting aside for retirement is 15% of your income.

From MarketWatch

"There are months where I will be down in the dumps, and I'll post just the bare minimum. I can't compete with robots."

From BBC

This decision lays bare the truth: EU lawmakers understand that the law is flawed.

From The Wall Street Journal

Graham Greene dissects the human heart, laying bare its irreconcilable contradictions.

From The Wall Street Journal

But the lack of adornments helps us see Tom laid bare.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• arid
• barren
• bleak
• desolate
• empty
• stark
• vacant

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.