bare

[ bair ]

/ bɛər /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR bare ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, bar·er, bar·est.

without covering or clothing; naked; nude: bare legs.

without the usual furnishings, contents, etc.: bare walls.

open to view; unconcealed; undisguised: his bare dislike of neckties.

unadorned; bald; plain: the bare facts.

(of cloth) napless or threadbare.

scarcely or just sufficient; mere: the bare necessities of life.

Obsolete. with the head uncovered; bareheaded.

verb (used with object), bared, bar·ing.

to open to view; reveal or divulge: to bare one's arms; to bare damaging new facts.

Origin of bare

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

SYNONYMS FOR bare

1 undressed.

2 plain, stark, empty, barren.

8 uncover, expose.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR bare ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR bare

1 covered.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR bare ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for bare

2. 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. 6. See mere¹.

OTHER WORDS FROM bare

bar·ish, adjective bare·ness, noun

Words nearby bare

bardo, bardolatry, bardolino, bardot, bardy, bare, bare bones, bare hands, with one's, bare infinitive, bare lymphocyte syndrome, bare necessities

Definition for bare (2 of 4)

bare ²

[ bair ]

/ bɛər /

verb Archaic.

simple past tense of bear¹.

Definition for bare (3 of 4)

bear ¹

[ bair ]

/ bɛər /

verb (used with object), bore or (Archaic) bare; borne or born; bear·ing.

to hold up; support: to bear the weight of the roof.

to hold or remain firm under (a load): The roof will not bear the strain of his weight.

to bring forth (young); give birth to: to bear a child.

to produce by natural growth: a tree that bears fruit.

to hold up under; be capable of: His claim doesn't bear close examination.

to press or push against: The crowd was borne back by the police.

to hold or carry (oneself, one's body, one's head, etc.): to bear oneself erectly.

to conduct (oneself): to bear oneself bravely.

to suffer; endure; undergo: to bear the blame.

to sustain without yielding or suffering injury; tolerate (usually used in negative constructions, unless qualified): I can't bear your nagging. I can hardly bear to see her suffering so.

to be fit for or worthy of: It doesn't bear repeating.

to carry; bring: to bear gifts.

to carry in the mind or heart: to bear love; to bear malice.

to transmit or spread (gossip, tales, etc.).

to render; afford; give: to bear witness; to bear testimony.

to lead; guide; take: They bore him home.

to have and be entitled to: to bear title.

to exhibit; show: to bear a resemblance.

to accept or have, as an obligation: to bear responsibility; to bear the cost.

to stand in (a relation or ratio); have or show correlatively: the relation that price bears to profit.

to possess, as a quality or characteristic; have in or on: to bear traces; to bear an inscription.

to have and use; exercise: to bear authority; to bear sway.

verb (used without object), bore or (Archaic) bare; borne or born; bear·ing.

to tend in a course or direction; move; go: to bear west; to bear left at the fork in the road.

to be located or situated: The lighthouse bears due north.

to bring forth young or fruit: Next year the tree will bear.

Verb Phrases

bear down,

to press or weigh down.
to strive harder; intensify one's efforts: We can't hope to finish unless everyone bears down.
Nautical. to approach from windward, as a ship: The cutter was bearing down the channel at twelve knots.

bear down on/upon,

to press or weigh down on.
to strive toward.
to approach something rapidly.
Nautical. to approach (another vessel) from windward: The sloop bore down on us, narrowly missing our stern.

bear off,

Nautical. to keep (a boat) from touching or rubbing against a dock, another boat, etc.
Nautical. to steer away.
Backgammon. to remove the stones from the board after they are all home.

bear on/upon, to affect, relate to, or have connection with; be relevant to: This information may bear on the case.

bear out, to substantiate; confirm: The facts bear me out.

bear up, to endure; face hardship bravely: It is inspiring to see them bearing up so well.

bear with, to be patient or forbearing with: Please bear with me until I finish the story.

Origin of bear

before 900; Middle English beren, Old English beran; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German beran, Dutch baren, Old Frisian, Old Norse bera, Gothic bairan, German ( ge)bären, Russian berët (he) takes, Albanian bie, Tocharian pär-, Phrygian ab-beret (he) brings, Latin ferre, Old Irish berid (he) carries, Armenian berem, Greek phérein, Sanskrit bhárati, Avestan baraiti; < Indo-European *bher- (see -fer, -phore)

SYNONYMS FOR bear

1 uphold, sustain.

4 yield.

6 thrust, drive, force.

10 brook, abide, suffer.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR bear ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for bear

10. Bear, stand, endure refer to supporting the burden of something distressing, irksome, or painful. Bear and stand are close synonyms and have a general sense of withstanding: to bear a disappointment well; to stand a loss. Endure implies continued resistance and patience in bearing through a long time: to endure torture.

usage note for bear

Since the latter part of the 18th century, a distinction has been made between born and borne as past participles of the verb bear1 . Borne is the past participle in all senses that do not refer to physical birth: The wheatfields have borne abundantly this year. Judges have always borne a burden of responsibility. Borne is also the participle when the sense is “to bring forth (young)” and the focus is on the mother rather than on the child. In such cases, borne is preceded by a form of have or followed by by: Anna had borne a son the previous year. Two children borne by her earlier were already grown. When the focus is on the offspring or on something brought forth as if by birth, born is the standard spelling, and it occurs only in passive constructions: My friend was born in Ohio. No children have been born at the South Pole. A strange desire was born of the tragic experience. Born is also an adjective meaning “by birth,” “innate,” or “native”: born free; a born troublemaker; Mexican-born.

Definition for bare (4 of 4)

bear ²

[ bair ]

/ bɛər /

noun, plural bears, (especially collectively) bear.

any of the plantigrade, carnivorous or omnivorous mammals of the family Ursidae, having massive bodies, coarse heavy fur, relatively short limbs, and almost rudimentary tails.

any of various animals resembling the bear, as the ant bear.

a gruff, burly, clumsy, bad-mannered, or rude person.

a person who believes that market prices, especially of stocks, will decline (opposed to bull).

Informal. a person who shows great ability, enthusiasm, stamina, etc.: a bear for physics.

(initial capital letter) Astronomy. either of two constellations, Ursa Major or Ursa Minor.

Informal. a player at cards who rarely bluffs.

(initial capital letter) Russia.

adjective

having to do with or marked by declining prices, as of stocks: bear market.

verb (used with object), beared, bear·ing.

Stock Exchange. to force prices down in (a market, stock, etc.).

Origin of bear

before 1000; Middle English be(a)re, beor(e), Old English bera; cognate with Frisian bār, Dutch beer, Old High German bero (German Bär); < Germanic *beran- literally, the brown one; akin to Old Norse bjǫrn, bersi; compare Lithuanian bė́ras brown. Cf. bruin

OTHER WORDS FROM bear

bear·like, adjective

ABOUT THIS WORD

What else does bare mean?

Bare is UK slang for very or lots of.

Where does bare come from?

The slang bare originates in Multicultural London English in the 1990s and was widely reported on as UK slang in the 2010s in the mainstream presence.

A contributor to its spread is the popular, London-based genre of rap music called Grime, which features aggressive, hard-hitting beats and lyrics. In their 2016 song “Too Many Man,” for instance, Grime group Boy Better Know sang about the club: “We need some more girls in here…Bare man not enough girls in here.” That track featured the “Godfather of Grime” himself, Wiley, who wrote “bare hype, bare bullshit, bare drama” on his 2015 mixtape Tunnel Vision Volume 1.

In 2013, a school in south London attempted to ban students from using words like bare on campus, believing it hurt their employment chances later in life.

How is bare used in real life?

Bare is used as an intensifier. If you earn bare money, you earn “a lot” of money.

being an estate agent was one of my ideas might actually get into it tbh you earn bare money

— kian (@ky6hh) October 18, 2018

If you are bare hungry, as another example, then you are “extremely” hungry.

If you were in the presence of bare women, as many who use the word often claim to be, that would be “many girls.”

Thanks to the popularity of Grime music and the diversity of London, bare has spread beyond UK slang into mainstream youth slang. It’s still closely associated with London slang, however.

More examples of bare:

“School slang ban is bare extra, innit?“
—Felix Allen, The Sun (headline), October, 2013

Note

This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.

Example sentences from the Web for bare

“Bare [sic] with me on vlogmas,” she told her fans in a Tweet.

Meet Zoella—The Newbie Author Whose Book Sales Topped J.K. Rowling |Lucy Scholes |December 11, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The American Academy of Pediatrics advocates for infants to be put to sleep in a bare crib to prevent SIDS.

Kids Eat the Darndest Things: Laundry Pods, Teething Necklaces, and More Of The Weirdest Stuff Sending Kids to the E.R. |Russell Saunders |November 14, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Maybe, just maybe he'd be able to get the message across if he stripped it down to its bare bones.

Are Politicians Too Dumb to Understand the Lyrics to ‘Born in the USA’? |Parker Molloy |November 6, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The bare bones of an already-anemic effort to fight the epidemic in West Africa that is threatening to destroy the entire region.

Doctors Without Borders Hits Ebola Breaking Point |Abby Haglage, Kent Sepkowitz |October 21, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Of course the scenes we worried about the most—when Joan was the most vulnerable and bare—were not a concern for her.

The Directors of Joan Rivers Documentary 'A Piece of Work' Remember Its Star |Kevin Fallon |September 8, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
He did not conceal anything; he merely outlined without filling in the bare suggestion.

Money Magic |Hamlin Garland
The serape was put aside languidly and a bare brown arm appeared.

The Mission of Janice Day |Helen Beecher Long
Two low rocky ranges enter its borders from the south and run northward in a bare and unshaded mass toward the plain country.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 6 |Various
Though much of the ground is bare in the desert, the plants are actually crowded together as closely as possible.

The Red Man's Continent |Ellsworth Huntington
From the woods and the forests they came, and from the bare hillsides—the lion, the leopard and the trembling fawn.

Children of the Dawn |Elsie Finnimore Buckley

British Dictionary definitions for bare (1 of 5)

bare ¹

/ (bɛə) /

adjective

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

without the natural, conventional, or usual covering or clothing a bare tree

lacking appropriate furnishings, etc a bare room

unembellished; simple the bare facts

(prenomial) just sufficient; mere he earned the bare minimum

with one's bare hands without a weapon or tool

verb

(tr) to make bare; uncover; reveal

Derived forms of bare

bareness, noun

Word Origin for bare

Old English bær; compare Old Norse berr, Old High German bar naked, Old Slavonic bosǔ barefoot

British Dictionary definitions for bare (2 of 5)

bare ²

/ (bɛə) /

verb

archaic a past tense of bear 1

British Dictionary definitions for bare (3 of 5)

Bear

/ (bɛə) /

noun the Bear

the English name for Ursa Major, Ursa Minor

an informal name for Russia

British Dictionary definitions for bare (4 of 5)

bear ¹

/ (bɛə) /

verb bears, bearing, bore or borne (mainly tr)

to support or hold up; sustain

to bring or convey to bear gifts

to take, accept, or assume the responsibility of to bear an expense

(past participle born in passive use except when foll by by) to give birth to to bear children

(also intr) to produce by or as if by natural growth to bear fruit

to tolerate or endure she couldn't bear him

to admit of; sustain his story does not bear scrutiny

to hold in the conscious mind or in one's feelings to bear a grudge; I'll bear that idea in mind

to show or be marked with he still bears the scars

to transmit or spread to bear gossip

to render or supply (esp in the phrase bear witness)

to conduct or manage (oneself, the body, etc) she bore her head high

to have, be, or stand in (relation or comparison) his account bears no relation to the facts

(intr) to move, be located, or lie in a specified direction the way bears east

to have by right; be entitled to (esp in the phrase bear title)

bear a hand to give assistance

bring to bear to bring into operation or effect he brought his knowledge to bear on the situation

See also bear down, bear off, bear on, bear out, bear up, bear with, born

Word Origin for bear

Old English beran; related to Old Norse bera, Old High German beran to carry, Latin ferre, Greek pherein to bear, Sanskrit bharati he carries

British Dictionary definitions for bare (5 of 5)

bear ²

/ (bɛə) /

noun plural bears or bear

any plantigrade mammal of the family Ursidae : order Carnivora (carnivores). Bears are typically massive omnivorous animals with a large head, a long shaggy coat, and strong claws See also black bear, brown bear, polar bear Related adjective: ursine

any of various bearlike animals, such as the koala and the ant bear

a clumsy, churlish, or ill-mannered person

a teddy bear

stock exchange

a speculator who sells in anticipation of falling prices to make a profit on repurchase
(as modifier)a bear market Compare bull 1 (def. 5)

verb bears, bearing or beared

(tr) to lower or attempt to lower the price or prices of (a stock market or a security) by speculative selling

Word Origin for bear

Old English bera; related to Old Norse bjorn, Old High German bero

Idioms and Phrases with bare

bear

In addition to the idioms beginning with bear

bear a grudge
bear down
beard the lion
bear fruit
bear in mind
bear one's cross
bear out
bear the brunt
bear up
bear with

also see:

bring to bear
cross as a bear
cross to bear
grin and bear it
loaded for bear

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

bare

adjective, bar·er, bar·est.

verb (used with object), bared, bar·ing.

Origin of bare

SYNONYMS FOR bare

ANTONYMS FOR bare

synonym study for bare

OTHER WORDS FROM bare

Words nearby bare

Definition for bare (2 of 4)

verb Archaic.

Definition for bare (3 of 4)

verb (used with object), bore or (Archaic) bare; borne or born; bear·ing.

verb (used without object), bore or (Archaic) bare; borne or born; bear·ing.

Verb Phrases

Origin of bear

SYNONYMS FOR bear

synonym study for bear

usage note for bear

Definition for bare (4 of 4)

noun, plural bears, (especially collectively) bear.

adjective

verb (used with object), beared, bear·ing.

Origin of bear

OTHER WORDS FROM bear

ABOUT THIS WORD

What else does bare mean?

Where does bare come from?

How is bare used in real life?

Note

Words related to bare

Example sentences from the Web for bare

British Dictionary definitions for bare (1 of 5)

adjective

verb

Derived forms of bare

Word Origin for bare

British Dictionary definitions for bare (2 of 5)

verb

British Dictionary definitions for bare (3 of 5)

noun the Bear

British Dictionary definitions for bare (4 of 5)

verb bears, bearing, bore or borne (mainly tr)

Word Origin for bear

British Dictionary definitions for bare (5 of 5)

noun plural bears or bear

verb bears, bearing or beared

Word Origin for bear

Idioms and Phrases with bare