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

Some have been turning away from processed foods, shifting to fresher fare on store perimeters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

In 2023, representatives on the House Transportation Committee proposed a bill that would have allowed airlines to prioritize advertisement of the base fare.

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

Worse, they had spent their money on one-way tickets to Hartford and had to borrow train fare to get home.

From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow

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

Some critics of the policy warn that airlines could misuse this freedom to entice customers with low base fares and high fees.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

The directors pressured the railroads to lower fares.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

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

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

John Stewart’s legend fared better in the animated “Justice League” and “Justice League Unlimited” series, which established him as a favorite among newcomers to the franchise.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

Brent Donnelly, founder of Spectra Markets, recalled how other stocks that drew sizable media attention around the expiration of their respective share lockups fared once the additional shares started hitting the market.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

Silver production fared worse, falling nearly 13% on year to 10.9 million ounces due to a combination of lower grades and a decrease in processed volumes, it said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

The older young, those hatched a year or more earlier, fared only slightly better.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

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, flash purchasing managers’ surveys for August will give a steer on how economies are faring in an environment of high energy prices and heightened geopolitical uncertainty.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

"Abernethy is an incredible place for nature, and we are concerned about how wildlife may be faring," she said.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

Some notable names in tech weren’t faring as well.

From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026

I couldn’t even imagine how the rickety insulin bucket might be faring.

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

Related Words

• expense
• price
• tariff
• ticket
• toll