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

The new model was flashy, black-light entertainment with thumping music, huge video screens, arcade games and claw machines, along with upscale food and drink at double or triple the prices of standard bowling-alley fare.

From Salon • Jul. 3, 2026

Insurance company Allianz modeled how countries would fare if the five hottest years each experienced between 2014 and 2024 recurred in succession.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 2, 2026

The message from those stock tickers is clear: Even A.I.-bullish investors are nervous about how the biggest companies in the space will fare without jacking up costs on all their products going forward.

From Slate • Jul. 2, 2026

The new minimum £10 ticket fare would see someone travelling from Bishopbriggs to Glasgow Queen Street pay £7 above the £3 pre-bought charge.

From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026

Geyer had little hope that his own search would fare any better.

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

Related Words

• expense
• price
• tariff
• ticket
• toll