fare

American  

[fair] / fɛər /

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.

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verb (used without object)

fares, present (3rd person singular) fared, past participle, past faring present participle

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 British  

/ 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

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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

Synonym Usage

See food.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• farer
  noun

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have fared
  perfect
• has fared
  perfect 3rd person singular
• am faring
  progressive 1st person singular
• has been faring
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• are faring
  progressive
• fares
  singular 3rd person
• is faring
  progressive 3rd person singular
• have been faring
  perfect progressive
• faring
  participle

Past

• had fared
  perfect
• fared
  participle
• fared
  simple
• were faring
  progressive plural
• was faring
  progressive singular
• had been faring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will fare
  simple
• will have fared
  perfect
• will be faring
  progressive
• will have been faring
  perfect progressive

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!

Example Sentences

How do you think the senior citizens of soccer will fare?

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026

De Boisse says they are merely reviving an old French tradition of dining en masse with good local fare that goes back into the depths of medieval history.

From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026

Walsh said in late April that demand for summer travel had held up well despite the fare increases, but airlines are nervously eyeing the prospects for oil prices as the Mideast war drags on.

From Barron's • Jun. 6, 2026

Enterprises have adopted AI into their workflows to fare better against competitors.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026

“My father sends greetings and asks how you fare with the harp he gave you. I can see it wants repair,” he added, with a friendly laugh.

From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander

Related Words

• expense
• price
• tariff
• ticket
• toll