tare
1 Americannoun
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any of various vetches, especially Vicia sativa.
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the seed of a vetch.
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Bible. a noxious weed, probably the darnel.
noun
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the weight of the wrapping, receptacle, or conveyance containing goods.
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a deduction from the gross weight to allow for this.
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the weight of a vehicle without cargo, passengers, etc.
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a counterweight used in chemical analysis to balance the weight of a container.
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a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter T.
verb (used with object)
verb
noun
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the weight of the wrapping or container in which goods are packed
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a deduction from gross weight to compensate for this
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the weight of a vehicle without its cargo, passengers, etc
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an empty container used as a counterbalance in determining net weight
verb
noun
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any of various vetch plants, such as Vicia hirsuta ( hairy tare ) of Eurasia and N Africa
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the seed of any of these plants
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Bible a troublesome weed, thought to be the darnel
Etymology
Origin of tare1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English tar(e), thar(e) “vetch”; akin to Dutch tarwe, Middle Low German terwe “wheat”
Origin of tare2
First recorded in 1480–90; from Middle French (equivalent to Medieval Latin, Italian, Provençal, Spanish, Portuguese tara, Spanish atara ), ultimately from Arabic ṭarḥah “what is thrown away, rejection, subtraction,” derivative of ṭaraḥa “to throw, throw away”
Explanation
The tare of a container is its weight when it's empty, which is important to know when you can't weigh something without putting it into something else. Since you can't measure the weight of, say, olive oil without putting it into a container, you need to find out how much the container weighs, its tare, so you don't add that to the weight of the olive oil. The same thing goes for cargo containers, trucks, airplanes, railroad cars. In chemistry, a tare is a counterweight used on this same principle. Tare is also a kind of weedy grass that grows in grain fields or that's raised for forage.
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.
Named storms Tare listed on the Met Office's website in the order that they took place.
From BBC • Sep. 26, 2023
As Tare peered into verdant spring treetops, though, a half-dozen songbirds interrupted his search with their evening serenades.
From New York Times • May 17, 2022
Cummins played Annie Laurie Starr, a sharpshooter in a traveling carnival who hooks up with a local marksman, Bart Tare, played by John Dall.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 2, 2018
And I had the pleasure of meeting another trick-shot artist, Tania Tare, and watching her do her thing up close on our office putting green:
From Golf Digest • Oct. 24, 2017
With her Colenso in her lap, Margaret Shields grappled for some time with the mysteries of Tare and Tret.
From The Mark Of Cain by Lang, Andrew
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.
