bare

¹

[bair]

adjective

barer, barest 

1. without covering or clothing; naked; nude.

   bare legs.

   Synonyms: undressed

2. without the usual furnishings, contents, etc..

   bare walls.

   Synonyms: barren, empty, stark, plain

3. open to view; unconcealed; undisguised.

   his bare dislike of neckties.

4. unadorned; bald; plain.

   the bare facts.

5. (of cloth) napless or threadbare.

6. scarcely or just sufficient; mere.

   the bare necessities of life.

7. Obsolete.,  with the head uncovered; bareheaded.

verb (used with object)

bared, baring 

1. to open to view; reveal or divulge.

   to bare one's arms; to bare damaging new facts.

   Synonyms: expose, uncover

bare

²

[bair]

verb

Archaic.

1. simple past tense of bear.

bare

¹

/ bɛə /

adjective

1. unclothed; exposed: used esp of a part of the body

2. without the natural, conventional, or usual covering or clothing

   a bare tree

3. lacking appropriate furnishings, etc

   a bare room

4. unembellished; simple

   the bare facts

5. (prenomial) just sufficient; mere

   he earned the bare minimum

6. without a weapon or tool

verb

1. (tr) to make bare; uncover; reveal

bare

²

/ bɛə /

verb

1. archaic,  a past tense of bear 1

Other Word Forms

• bareness noun
• barish adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bare¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English bær; cognate with Old Frisian ber, Dutch baar, Old Saxon, Old High German, German bar, Old Norse berr; akin to Armenian bok “naked,” Lithuanian bãsas, Russian bosóĭ “barefoot”

Word History and Origins

Origin of bare¹

Old English bær ; compare Old Norse berr , Old High German bar naked, Old Slavonic bosǔ barefoot

Synonym Study

Bare, stark, barren share the sense of lack or absence of something that might be expected. Bare, the least powerful in connotation of the three, means lack of expected or usual coverings, furnishings, or embellishments: bare floor, feet, head. Stark implies extreme severity or desolation and resultant bleakness or dreariness: a stark landscape; a stark, emotionless countenance. Barren carries a strong sense of sterility and oppressive dullness: barren fields; a barren relationship. See mere ¹.

Example Sentences

That there aren’t enough men out there to meet that bare minimum is not the fault of women.

From Salon

She found her designer on Instagram, drawn to their 200,000-strong following and "work ethic that goes above and beyond, they don't do the bare minimum".

From BBC

That was the last time we saw the bare minimum the government could do when people work together.

From Salon

Social media lays bare that anxiety and frustration.

From Los Angeles Times

In June 2024, Filipino soldiers used their "bare hands" to fight off Chinese coast guard personnel armed with swords, spears and knives in the area.

From BBC

Related Words

• arid 
• barren 
• bleak 
• desolate 
• empty 
• stark 
• vacant 

When To Use

What else does bare mean?

Bare is UK slang for very or lots of.