fare

American  

[fair] / fɛər /

noun

• fares
  plural

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• fares
  plural

Participles

• faring
  present
• fared
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• fare
  simple
• fares
  simple
• have fared
  perfect
• has fared
  perfect
• am faring
  progressive
• are faring
  progressive
• is faring
  progressive
• have been faring
  perfect progressive
• has been faring
  perfect progressive

Past

• fared
  simple
• had fared
  perfect
• was faring
  progressive
• were faring
  progressive
• 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

See Examples For:

fare fares fared faring

The base fare did not include $328 in taxes and fees.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

With there being no 36-hole cut at any FedEx play-off event, six-time major winner McIlroy will hope to fare better over the weekend.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

They ride campus buses without paying a fare.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

“Government taxes and fees and carrier-imposed fees make up the bulk of airline ticket pricing in today’s fare filings.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

It also saved the pennies that would otherwise have paid their fare on the streetcar and instead could be used to buy a better cut of meat for Sunday dinner.

From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield

Travellers are hoping that opening the line to competition will drive down prices for tickets that can often be more expensive than Paris-to-London airline fares.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

In animated renditions streaming on HBO Max, the Green Lantern fares much better.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

If transportation is universally available without fares on campus, it may seem natural to ask why urban transportation doesn’t function similarly.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

With the total price displayed upfront, it is easy to compare fares within an airline or use a tool such as Google Flights to see fares across different airlines.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

Since it was against the law for private cars to charge fares like licensed taxis, the network would be paid for by donations collected at the mass meetings.

From "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" by Phillip Hoose

Brewis says some users have fared a lot better than my sorry effort.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

They still fared better than Bessent and Rubio, who were offered up as a potential sacrifice on Air Force One.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

Their hitters have fared no better than their pitchers: The Angels rank 26th in the majors in runs scored.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Hawaii and Alaska, which aren’t part of the contiguous U.S., fared much better.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

“How do you suppose the kingdom has fared in our absence?”

From "Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson

They aren’t living drab or depressing lives when the Guardians of the Universe activate them — they’re faring pretty well, all things considered.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

In Europe, further economic data in the eurozone will provide a steer on how the region is faring amid elevated energy prices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

A team of volunteers has also been trained to carry out spring and autumn field surveys across the area to record how wild birds are faring.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

She has been eliminated in the first round of singles at several tournaments while faring better in doubles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

“I thought I’d scared you off it. How’s our haunted mansion faring these days? Still standing?”

From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

Related Words

• expense
• price
• tariff
• ticket
• toll