bare

¹

[bair]

adjective

barer, barest 

1. without covering or clothing; naked; nude.

   bare legs.

   Synonyms: undressed

2. without the usual furnishings, contents, etc..

   bare walls.

   Synonyms: barren, empty, stark, plain

3. open to view; unconcealed; undisguised.

   his bare dislike of neckties.

4. unadorned; bald; plain.

   the bare facts.

5. (of cloth) napless or threadbare.

6. scarcely or just sufficient; mere.

   the bare necessities of life.

7. Obsolete.,  with the head uncovered; bareheaded.

verb (used with object)

bared, baring 

1. to open to view; reveal or divulge.

   to bare one's arms; to bare damaging new facts.

   Synonyms: expose, uncover

bare

²

[bair]

verb

Archaic.

1. simple past tense of bear.

bare

¹

/ bɛə /

adjective

1. unclothed; exposed: used esp of a part of the body

2. without the natural, conventional, or usual covering or clothing

   a bare tree

3. lacking appropriate furnishings, etc

   a bare room

4. unembellished; simple

   the bare facts

5. (prenomial) just sufficient; mere

   he earned the bare minimum

6. without a weapon or tool

verb

1. (tr) to make bare; uncover; reveal

bare

²

/ bɛə /

verb

1. archaic,  a past tense of bear 1

Other Word Forms

• barish adjective
• bareness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of bare¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English bær; cognate with Old Frisian ber, Dutch baar, Old Saxon, Old High German, German bar, Old Norse berr; akin to Armenian bok “naked,” Lithuanian bãsas, Russian bosóĭ “barefoot”

Word History and Origins

Origin of bare¹

Old English bær ; compare Old Norse berr , Old High German bar naked, Old Slavonic bosǔ barefoot

Synonym Study

Bare, stark, barren share the sense of lack or absence of something that might be expected. Bare, the least powerful in connotation of the three, means lack of expected or usual coverings, furnishings, or embellishments: bare floor, feet, head. Stark implies extreme severity or desolation and resultant bleakness or dreariness: a stark landscape; a stark, emotionless countenance. Barren carries a strong sense of sterility and oppressive dullness: barren fields; a barren relationship. See mere ¹.

Example Sentences

There’s a specific pointedness to the fact that Linda, who bares her soul to a colleague played by Conan O’Brien, is charged with managing other peoples’ issues as a mental health professional.

From Los Angeles Times

"My eyes were blindfolded, but I could hear men and children and they started to lynch me with their bare hands, and the kids' shoes start to hit me when I was on the ground."

From BBC

“I just wanted to lay it all very bare.”

From Los Angeles Times

Indeed, if Wednesday’s wipe-out win at rollicking Dodger Stadium was any indication, the Dodgers seemed prime for this upcoming brawl, their strongest October fists bared and ready.

From Los Angeles Times

Atlas even speculates that the horse-hair boxing gloves used by each had worn down so much during the fight that they were basically hitting each other with bare fists.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• arid 
• barren 
• bleak 
• desolate 
• empty 
• stark 
• vacant 

When To Use

What else does bare mean?

Bare is UK slang for very or lots of.