Showing results for "are"

• an inflection of be.

are

¹ American  

[ahr, er] / ɑr, ər /

verb

1. present indicative plural and 2nd person singular of be.

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are ² American  

[air, ahr] / ɛər, ɑr /

noun

1. a measure of surface area: 1 are is equal to 1/100 (0.01) of a hectare (100 square meters or 119.6 square yards). a

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are ¹ British  

/ ɑː, ə /

verb

1. the plural form of the present tense (indicative mood) of the verb `be' and the singular form used with you

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are ² British  

/ ɑː /

noun

1.  a.  a unit of area equal to 100 sq metres or 119.599 sq yards; one hundredth of a hectare

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Etymology

Origin of are¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English aren, are, arn, Old English (Northumbrian) aron; cognate with Old Norse eru, 3rd person plural; replacing Old English bēoth, sind; cf. art ²

Origin of are²

First recorded in 1810–20; from French, from Latin ārea “vacant piece of level ground, open space in a town, threshing floor”; see area

Explanation

Are is the plural of "is" and "am," a form of the most common verb "be." He is going, but we are going. Are is also used with you, as in, "Are you going to the movies?" In English, the forms of be break down like this: "I am; you are; he is; we are; they are; you (more than one of you) are." Are, of course, is only used when you are talking about things that are happening now. When they already happened, the word is were: we are here now, but we were there yesterday. Are is also a metric measurement equal to 100 square meters, but the unit is rarely used these days.

Example Sentences

"For now, people are sharpening their swords and firming up their positions," auto analyst Stefan Bratzel of the Centre of Automotive Management told AFP.

From Barron's • Jul. 10, 2026

Market breadth and market leadership are two very different things, Stockton said, outlining that semiconductor stocks have had particularly narrow leadership.

From MarketWatch • Jul. 10, 2026

Chinese brands are also threatening Volkswagen on its home turf.

From Barron's • Jul. 10, 2026

Corporate insiders on balance are not backing up their companies’ buybacks with purchases with their own money.

From MarketWatch • Jul. 10, 2026

And there are many powerful men with their eyes on the island nation’s abundance of raw materials.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly