fare

[fair]

noun

1. the price of conveyance or passage in a bus, train, airplane, or other vehicle.

2. a person or persons who pay to be conveyed in a vehicle; paying passenger.

3. a person who hires a public vehicle and its driver.

4. food; diet.

   hearty fare.

5. something offered to the public, for entertainment, enjoyment, consumption, etc..

   literary fare.

6. Archaic.,  state of things.

verb (used without object)

fared, faring 

1. to experience good or bad fortune, treatment, etc.; get on.

   He fared well in his profession.

2. to go; turn out; happen (used impersonally).

   It fared ill with him.

3. to go; travel.

4. to eat and drink.

   They fared sumptuously.

fare

/ fɛə /

noun

1. the sum charged or paid for conveyance in a bus, train, aeroplane, etc

2. a paying passenger, esp when carried by taxi

3. a range of food and drink; diet

verb

1. to get on (as specified); manage

   he fared well

2. to turn out or happen as specified

   it fared badly with him

3. archaic,  to eat

   we fared sumptuously

4. archaic,  (often foll by forth) to go or travel

Other Word Forms

• farer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of fare¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of fare¹

Old English faran ; related to Old Norse fara to travel, Old High German faran to go, Greek poros ford

Synonym Study

See food.

Example Sentences

I paid $3,400 for two for the cruise fare.

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He paid triple the usual fare to book passage on a ship that was already packed snug as a tin of herring.

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“I recognize the coach; that driver often takes fares from the station.”

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“I think no company is going to be immune, including us,” he told BBC when asked how Google would fare if the AI bubble burst.

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And new boxes, black ones for more premium fare such as stuffed-crust pies and brighter red, white and blue packaging for the rest.

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Related Words

• expense 
• price 
• tariff 
• ticket 
• toll