are

¹ American  

[ahr, er] / ɑr, ər /

verb

1. present indicative plural and 2nd person singular of be.

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are ² American  

[air, ahr] / ɛər, ɑr /

noun

1. a measure of surface area: 1 are is equal to 1/100 (0.01) of a hectare (100 square meters or 119.6 square yards). a

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are ¹ British  

/ ɑː, ə /

verb

1. the plural form of the present tense (indicative mood) of the verb `be' and the singular form used with you

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are ² British  

/ ɑː /

noun

1.  a.  a unit of area equal to 100 sq metres or 119.599 sq yards; one hundredth of a hectare

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Etymology

Origin of are¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English aren, are, arn, Old English (Northumbrian) aron; cognate with Old Norse eru, 3rd person plural; replacing Old English bēoth, sind; cf. art ²

Origin of are²

First recorded in 1810–20; from French, from Latin ārea “vacant piece of level ground, open space in a town, threshing floor”; see area

Explanation

Are is the plural of "is" and "am," a form of the most common verb "be." He is going, but we are going. Are is also used with you, as in, "Are you going to the movies?" In English, the forms of be break down like this: "I am; you are; he is; we are; they are; you (more than one of you) are." Are, of course, is only used when you are talking about things that are happening now. When they already happened, the word is were: we are here now, but we were there yesterday. Are is also a metric measurement equal to 100 square meters, but the unit is rarely used these days.

Example Sentences

Officials say there are more than 900 suspected cases of Ebola in central and East Africa, and 223 suspected deaths, since the outbreak was declared.

From BBC • May 26, 2026

You are in big red-flag territory for this one.

From MarketWatch • May 26, 2026

The world governing body's standard policy dictates tickets are listed for resale or transferred to another individual rather than refunded, reserving the latter option for exceptional circumstances like match cancellations.

From BBC • May 26, 2026

In England, the UK government intends to pass a law so that schools must ensure schools are free of smartphones during the day.

From BBC • May 26, 2026

There are several in the area, near the road.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith