Synonyms

pare

¹ American

[pair] / pɛər /

verb (used with object)

pared, paring

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.

Synonyms:

lessen, shave, clip

Antonyms:

increase

Paré ² American

[pa-rey] / paˈreɪ /

noun

Ambroise 1510–90, French surgeon.

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Paré ² British

/ pare /

noun

Ambroise (ɑ̃brwaz). 1510–90, French surgeon. He reintroduced ligature of arteries following amputation instead of cauterization

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See peel ¹.

Other Word Forms

pareable adjective
parer noun
unpared adjective

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“; prepare

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.

The faults have now been fixed, bringing some relief to the state-owned ferry firm which since last week has been forced to pare back services as it faces an "unprecedented" shortage of ships.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

As major automakers pare back their EV offerings, Sony and Honda are scrapping their plans to launch a gadget-packed electric vehicle.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

If you hold growth stocks mainly in taxable accounts and bonds in your IRA, that could pare your future RMDs.

From Barron's • Mar. 5, 2026

On Monday, individual investors poured $2.2 billion into stocks and exchange-traded funds as major indexes slid, helping pare early drops, analysts at JP Morgan Chase said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

All the f’s are fractions, having values between 0 and 1; they will pare down the large value of N.. To derive N we must estimate each of these quantities.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023