rarity
Americannoun
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rarities
plural
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something rare, unusual, or uncommon.
Snowstorms are a rarity in the South.
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something esteemed or interesting in being rare, uncommon, or curious.
That folio is a rarity that will bring a good price.
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the state or quality of being rare.
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rare occurrence; infrequency.
Volcanic eruptions on the island occur with great rarity.
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unusual excellence.
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thinness, as of air or a gas.
noun
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a rare person or thing, esp something interesting or valued because it is uncommon
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the state or quality of being rare
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of rarity
1550–60; < Latin rāritās thinness, equivalent to rār ( us ) rare 1 + -itās -ity
Vocabulary lists containing rarity
"My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning
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"The Tempest," Vocabulary from Acts 1 and 2
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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:
I look for originality and rarity when collecting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
He said: "It is a rarity and we get far fewer cats than people would believe."
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Their rarity and longevity make them especially valuable to researchers studying glacier retreat, changing ocean conditions and the risks posed by drifting ice in polar regions.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
None of it makes practical sense, which is rather the point: Presence has become rare, and rarity gives it value.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
For seven years the two friends had been inseparable, each, by virtue of the rarity of similar and equal sensibilities, irreplaceable to the other.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
The diehards chase the rarities, Springsteen changes songs in and out as the spirit moves him, and there was one tour where he took requests via sign from the audience.
From Salon ● May 28, 2026
In the 1950s and ’60s, there would be earworm TV-show themes—from “Have Gun—Will Travel,” “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp,” “Rawhide”—but over the decades that followed, corral-based hits became rarities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2026
Known as ‘trial pieces’ or a ‘pattern coins’, such rarities are typically sought by serious collectors.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2024
Showstoppers like Donna and Viatina-19 are rarities in Brazil, where there are more than 230 million cows, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 3, 2024
They are not just a few Croesus-like rarities.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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.
