pare
verb (used with object)
to cut off the outer coating, layer, or part of.
pare
1 American
[pair]
/ pɛər /
verb (used with object)
-
pares,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pared,
past participle, past
-
paring
present participle
-
to cut off the outer coating, layer, or part of.
-
to remove (an outer coating, layer, or part) by cutting (often followed by off oraway ).
-
to reduce or remove by or as by cutting; diminish or decrease gradually (often followed bydown ).
to pare down one's expenses.
- Antonyms:
- increase
Paré
2
American
[pa -rey]
/ paˈreɪ /
noun
pare
1
British
/ pɛə /
verb
-
to peel or cut (the outer layer) from (something)
-
to cut the edges from (the nails); trim
-
to decrease bit by bit
Paré
2
British
/ pare /
noun
Synonym Usage
See peel 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
paresimple
-
paressimple
-
have paredperfect
-
has paredperfect
-
am paringprogressive
-
are paringprogressive
-
is paringprogressive
-
have been paringperfect progressive
-
has been paringperfect progressive
Past
-
paredsimple
-
had paredperfect
-
was paringprogressive
-
were paringprogressive
-
had been paringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pare
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English paren, from Middle French parer, “to make ready, trim” from Latin parāre ”to prepare, make ready“; see origin at prepare
Explanation
To pare is to trim — like when you pare branches on a tree or pare down your expenses to save money. Pare comes from the Latin word parare, meaning "to prepare." Think of peeling potatoes, which you might do with a paring knife, or paring your nails so you'll make a neat appearance. In each case, you are trimming something gradually. If you pare down your expectations, you might be pleasantly surprised.
Vocabulary lists containing pare
"The Railway Train" by Emily Dickinson
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Twelfth Night
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Our Town
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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.
See Examples For:
The Finance Department is expected to pare down and fine-tune the list.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
It worked to pare down menus and offer dinner deals, and rolled out items like slow-braised pot roast and hash-brown casserole shepherd’s pie.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Nasdaq futures were in the green, though software stocks failed to pare back significantly the last session’s sharp losses in premarket trade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Zola’s Forrest suggested that I could pare back my gift giving from $150 to $50, or an amount that won’t cause financial stress.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
He needed someone who could collaborate with MTI to pare down the show, simplify some of the music and set, while still pulling off a production that would impress Mackintosh.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
Ms. Chesterman said that while Ms. Paré was lesser-known than someone like Jehane Benoît, considered to be Canada’s Julia Child, both women probably benefited from a cookbook market that, unlike today, wasn’t particularly saturated.
From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2023
Paré described the number of shots fired as in the "hundreds," according to the station.
From Fox News ● Feb. 10, 2022
Millennials are currently the “sandwich generation,” says Frank Paré, a CFP and president and managing partner at PF Wealth Management Group in Oakland, California.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 26, 2021
Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Paré told residents Wednesday night at an emergency neighborhood association meeting that police were ensuring their safety.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 29, 2018
He was suffering from mastoiditis, of course, and Ambrose Paré was clever enough to find it out, and might have saved his life if he had been allowed to have his way.
From In Château Land by Anne Hollingsworth Wharton
First, the order pares the list of recommended immunizations to 11 diseases from 17.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Siemens Energy pares losses to fall 4.8%, while GE Vernova shares fall 5% premarket.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Moderna pares early gains even as the drugmaker posts higher revenue and a narrower loss for the first quarter.
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
When the prime minister addresses the cabinet, not far away in 10 Downing Street, he is primus inter pares, first among equals, sitting among his or her ministers.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2025
The Old Dominion was accustomed to thinking of itself as primus inter pares in any confederation of states.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
It pared some gains to close at 845 yuan, up 460 percent.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
The dollar fell 0.3% against a basket of currencies after reaching a 10-week low earlier, as weaker-than-expected data led to pared rate-hike expectations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Training was pared back on Thursday after Jaissle - stopwatch hanging from his neck - recognised the legs of his squad were "heavy".
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
“Everyone’s pared down or pared up, and so they’re all equal.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
It stripped his thoughts of the words that described them and left them pared and naked.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
The Japanese unit strengthened from a four-decade low around 163 to the greenback Friday, to 155.23 Monday, its best level since May, before paring the gains.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
Shares opened around 6% higher in morning trading in Milan before paring some gains.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
But after initially paring gains, Reuters reported, citing an Iranian source, on a proposal that offered 10 days with no strikes, in an effort to revive an interim peace deal reached last month.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
“He went from paring down his arsenal to kind of two pitches, to regrow his arsenal while he’s learning how to pitch at this level,” Prior said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Naomi froze, the paring knife trembling between her fingers.
From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez
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.
