bare

1 of 3

adjective

barer; barest
1
a
: lacking a natural, usual, or appropriate covering
b(1)
: lacking clothing
bare feet
(2)
obsolete : bareheaded
c
: lacking any tool or weapon
opened the box with his bare hands
2
: open to view : exposed
laying bare their secrets
3
a
: unfurnished or scantily supplied
a bare room
b
: destitute
bare of all safeguards
4
a
: having nothing left over or added
the bare necessities of life
b
: mere
a bare two hours away
c
: devoid of amplification or adornment
the bare facts
5
obsolete : worthless
bareness noun

bare

2 of 3

verb

bared; baring

transitive verb

: to make or lay (something) bare (see bare entry 1) : uncover

bare

3 of 3

archaic past tense of bear

Did you know?

Usage Note on Bear

There is considerable confusion between the verbs bear and bare. It may help to remember that the verb bare has only one meaning: "to uncover," as in "bare your shoulders" and "a dog baring its teeth." All other uses of the verb are for bear: "bearing children," "the right to bear arms," "bearing up under the stress/weight," "can't bear the thought," "bear south," "it bears repeating."

There is occasional confusion between bear and bare in adjectival uses (as in "he rubbed his bear arms"), but bear is properly a noun and only used like an adjective in the financial phrase bear market. All other uses refer to the state of being uncovered or naked and should therefore be bare: "bare necessities," "bare essentials," "bare arms," "bare bones," "bare-knuckle," and so on.

Did you know?

Usage Note on Bear

There is considerable confusion between the verbs bear and bare. It may help to remember that the verb bare has only one meaning: "to uncover," as in "bare your shoulders" and "a dog baring its teeth." All other uses of the verb are for bear: "bearing children," "the right to bear arms," "bearing up under the stress/weight," "can't bear the thought," "bear south," "it bears repeating."

There is occasional confusion between bear and bare in adjectival uses (as in "he rubbed his bear arms"), but bear is properly a noun and only used like an adjective in the financial phrase bear market. All other uses refer to the state of being uncovered or naked and should therefore be bare: "bare necessities," "bare essentials," "bare arms," "bare bones," "bare-knuckle," and so on.

Choose the Right Synonym for bare

bare, naked, nude, bald, barren mean deprived of naturally or conventionally appropriate covering.

bare implies the removal of what is additional, superfluous, ornamental, or dispensable.

an apartment with bare walls

naked suggests absence of protective or ornamental covering but may imply a state of nature, of destitution, or of defenselessness.

poor half-naked children

nude applies especially to the unclothed human figure.

a nude model posing for art students

bald implies actual or seeming absence of natural covering and may suggest a conspicuous bareness.

a bald mountain peak

barren often suggests aridity or impoverishment or sterility.

barren plains

Examples of bare in a Sentence

Adjective The brittle-looking branches of bare trees reached up from the horizon, and smoke could be seen curling from the chimneys of the sturdy stone houses in the villages we passed through. David McAninch, Saveur, November 2008
The dining room is warm and comfortable in a quasi-Tuscan-villa style, with bare wood floors, mottled walls, … and a glass room divider etched with images of grapes. Colman Andrews, Gourmet, March 2007
A scant two hours after his Derby victory, Monarchos was back in his … stall, beneath a bare bulb, eating carrots from a red bucket. Steve Rushin, Sports Illustrated, 14 May 2001
There was a rug in the front room of the house, but the other floors were bare. Do not let the bare wires touch. He covered her bare arms with his coat. He had a glove on his left hand, but his right hand was bare. The ground was bare where the statue had stood for years. There was only one bare shelf. Her office was pretty bare, having only one desk and one chair. This is the barest room in the house. He only told me the bare facts about what happened. Verb Ed McMahon calls upon the canine coach to help him settle down his aggressive … terrier, which is nice to Ed but bares its teeth at guests. TV Guide, 29 Oct.-4 Nov. 2007
You could argue that the very act of conducting a lengthy poll by telephone skews the response pool. What sort of person bares her soul to pollsters for upward of an hour—and during the holiday season yet? Katha Pollitt, Nation, 4/11 Aug. 2003
When Eastman called Death in the Afternoon (Hemingway's nonfiction book about bullfighting) "a literary style of wearing false hair on the chest," Hemingway had no other options than to bare his hirsute midsection and duke it out with his rival author in front of their editor, Max Perkins. The common mythology is that Hemingway beat Eastman to a bloody pulp, but Perkins' account had Eastman gaining the upper hand. Will Manley, Booklist, 1 Apr. 2001
The better analogy is to bare all on the talk shows in which ordinary people are encouraged to reveal intimate aspects of their private lives. Richard A. Posner, New Republic, 21 Aug. 2000
He bared his chest to show the scar. finally bared the secret that she had kept to herself for so long
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
So, add some texture to the living room couch or bare arm chair with BaubleBar’s custom blankets. Alyssa Grabinski, Peoplemag, 13 Mar. 2024 The city will give away 100 bare root saplings Monday at Gulley Park, according to a news release. Nwa Democrat-Gazette, arkansasonline.com, 13 Mar. 2024 Another line of defense for both bare and polished nails is a nail brush, says manicurist Sonya Belakhlef. Belle Bakst, Allure, 12 Mar. 2024 But only half of the site is paved, while the other half is bare dirt — and people live on both sides. Calmatters, The Mercury News, 12 Mar. 2024 Pops of color from traditional local textiles elegantly interrupt the stylish minimalism of the terrazzo walls and floors, with plenty of bare wood touches. Naomi Tomky, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Mar. 2024 Even after the interview aired, CNBC waited hours to do the bare minimum and publish digital stories fact-checking some of Trump’s claims. Oliver Darcy, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024 Grass seed that’s promised to patch bare spots usually won’t. Neil Sperry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Mar. 2024 My favorite look has been these chunky gold hoops paired with a black turtleneck and my hair pulled back in a low ponytail, and also dangling over bare shoulders with hair tucked behind the ears and flowing long behind a black off-the-shoulder top. Kristy Alpert, Travel + Leisure, 1 Mar. 2024
Verb
Although Taylor Swift famously bares her soul in her songwriting, she’s historically been guarded about her personal life. Janey Tracey, EW.com, 14 Mar. 2024 Jodie Turner-Smith (nearly) bared it all on the red carpet on Oscars night. Charlotte Phillipp, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024 If instead West saves two spades and one club, East must bare a black-suit king. Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2024 Kelce's mustard blazer and pants, burgundy beanie and striped turtle-neck bared a uncanny resemblance to a Cheesecake Factory takeout bag, the company observed. Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024 Rosenthal couldn’t bare to leave his friends behind, when there was still so much to accomplish. Maëlle Beauget-Uhl, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024 Then there is Brad Pitt, a picture of the traditional silver-screen lead, who worked his way up from Springfield, Missouri, baring a magnetic smile for paparazzi everywhere. Vulture, 2 Feb. 2024 As a result, people bared their souls in a cathartic, interfaith conversation that kept them coming back for a second event Nov. 15, held at the Muslim Community Cultural Center of Baltimore on North Avenue. Maya Lora, Baltimore Sun, 23 Jan. 2024 Beyoncé is baring her heart - and more - on Valentine's Day! Ingrid Vasquez, Peoplemag, 15 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bare.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Verb

Middle English, from Old English bær; akin to Old High German bar naked, Lithuanian basas barefoot

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bare was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near bare

Cite this Entry

“Bare.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bare. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bare

1 of 2 adjective
ˈba(ə)r How to pronounce bare (audio)
ˈbe(ə)r
barer; barest
1
a
: lacking a covering : naked
trees bare of leaves
b
: lacking any tool or weapon
opened the box with his bare hands
2
: open to view
the scandal was laid bare
3
: empty entry 1 sense 1
the cupboard was bare
4
a
: just enough with nothing to spare
a bare majority
the bare necessities of life
b
: not decorated or added to : plain
the bare facts
a bare outline of the story
barely adverb
bareness noun

bare

2 of 2 verb
bared; baring
: to make or lay bare : uncover, reveal

More from Merriam-Webster on bare

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