fare
Americannoun
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fares
plural
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the price of conveyance or passage in a bus, train, airplane, or other vehicle.
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a person or persons who pay to be conveyed in a vehicle; paying passenger.
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a person who hires a public vehicle and its driver.
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hearty fare.
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something offered to the public, for entertainment, enjoyment, consumption, etc..
literary fare.
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Archaic. state of things.
verb (used without object)
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fares,
present (3rd person singular)
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fared,
past participle, past
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faring
present participle
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to experience good or bad fortune, treatment, etc.; get on.
He fared well in his profession.
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to go; turn out; happen (used impersonally).
It fared ill with him.
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to go; travel.
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to eat and drink.
They fared sumptuously.
noun
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the sum charged or paid for conveyance in a bus, train, aeroplane, etc
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a paying passenger, esp when carried by taxi
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a range of food and drink; diet
verb
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to get on (as specified); manage
he fared well
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to turn out or happen as specified
it fared badly with him
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archaic to eat
we fared sumptuously
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archaic (often foll by forth) to go or travel
Synonym Usage
See food.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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faresimple
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faressimple
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have faredperfect
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has faredperfect
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am faringprogressive
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are faringprogressive
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is faringprogressive
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have been faringperfect progressive
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has been faringperfect progressive
Past
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faredsimple
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had faredperfect
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was faringprogressive
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were faringprogressive
-
had been faringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fare
First recorded before 1000; Middle English faren, Old English faran; cognate with German fahren, Old Norse fara, Gothic faran; akin to emporium, port 5, pram 2
Explanation
It's not fair that fare means three unrelated things. As a verb, it means to proceed or get along, as in "Fare thee well." As a noun, it can refer to the cost of travel ("Train fare is ten dollars") or to food ("Tatertots are typical cafeteria fare"). Although this word has multiple meanings, they can all be traced back to the Old English root for "journey." If you’re taking a trip, fare well! If you do fare well, you'll have a great time. A taxi looking for a fare might give you a ride to the airport (though you'll have to pay the fare). And if you didn’t bring your own food, you’ll have to eat airplane fare. Fare is a handy word to bring on a journey!
Vocabulary lists containing fare
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"The Civil Rights Movement"
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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.
See Examples For:
For Cohn, pop, unlike rock, offered “a quick hit,” in contrast to album-oriented fare.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
At Maçakizi Restaurant, the one-Michelin-star restaurant at the Maçakizi Hotel, chef Aret Sahakyan serves a range of farm-to-table fare inspired by different Mediterranean regions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
He told me his plan, called Fare Watch, would use a "simple reporting tool in the TfL Go app and online" where passengers will be able to report persistent fare dodging.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
“These fare increases will not raise enough to fill Metrolink’s budget deficit,” she told The Times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
I had a loving and orderly home, bus fare to get me across town to school, and a hot meal to come home to at night.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
“Metrolink has worked hard to keep fares affordable while the cost of operating and maintaining our regional rail system has continued to rise,” Metrolink Chief Executive Darren Kettle said in a recent statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
That’s happening as some cruise lines’ core middle-class customers are becoming cautious, which requires more attractive fares to keep ships full.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
Since entering government in July, Burnham has offered the British public some relatively low-cost relief such as cheaper bus fares and a tax cut on electricity bills.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
In August, airline fares were up more than 23% from the year prior, according to the U.S. consumer-price index — and flights are expected to keep getting pricier.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
My search for the egg required constant travel, and GSS kept raising their teleportation fares.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
The Champagne region fared less well as growers had to harvest exceptionally early after the extreme heat sped sugar buildup -- and hence natural alcohol production.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
Hardt pointed out that the CDU/CSU fared far better in other regional elections earlier this year, when we spoke minutes after Merz addressed party lawmakers at a closed-door meeting in the Bundestag.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
It fared better in the EU alone, with growth of nearly 53%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
A 2013 push by Google failed to take off but Meta's smart spectacles, developed in partnership with Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica, have fared much better.
From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026
The Mystery Maid, a halibut and black cod schooner, had fared badly of late and was in the process of being overhauled.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
Cartier owner Richemont is faring better than LVMH.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
These will give an up-to-date snapshot of how companies are faring given the recent spike in oil prices, which was a key factor prompting the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at its recent meeting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Tokyo shed more than two percent, with Kioxia off around 10 percent and investment giant SoftBank faring little better.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
They aren’t living drab or depressing lives when the Guardians of the Universe activate them — they’re faring pretty well, all things considered.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
They stitched uneasily, the needles faring through the dark material with a long gleam Hke falling stars.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
