bare definition | Dictionary.com

bare

1 [bair]

adjective, bar⋅er, bar⋅est, verb (used with object), bared, bar⋅ing.

–adjective

1.	without covering or clothing; naked; nude: bare legs.

2.	without the usual furnishings, contents, etc.: bare walls.

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)

8.	to open to view; reveal or divulge: to bare one's arms; to bare damaging new facts.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE bær; c. OFris ber, D baar, OS, OHG, G bar, ON berr, Lith bãsas barefoot, Russ bos; akin to Armenian bok naked

Related forms:

barish, adjective

bareness, noun

Synonyms:
1. undressed. 2. plain, stark, empty, barren. 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. 6. See mere ¹ . 8. uncover, expose.

Antonyms:
1. covered.

bare

2 [bair]

–verb Archaic.

pt. of bear.

bear

1 [bair]

verb, bore or (Archaic

) bare; borne or born; bear⋅ing.

–verb (used with object)

1.	to hold up; support: to bear the weight of the roof.

2.	to hold or remain firm under (a load): The roof will not bear the strain of his weight.

3.	to bring forth (young); give birth to: to bear a child.

4.	to produce by natural growth: a tree that bears fruit.

5.	to hold up under; be capable of: His claim doesn't bear close examination.

6.	to press or push against: The crowd was borne back by the police.

7.	to hold or carry (oneself, one's body, one's head, etc.): to bear oneself erectly.

8.	to conduct (oneself): to bear oneself bravely.

9.	to suffer; endure; undergo: to bear the blame.

10.	to sustain without yielding or suffering injury; tolerate (usually used in negative constructions, unless qualified): I can't bear your nagging. I can hardly bear to see her suffering so.

11.	to be fit for or worthy of: It doesn't bear repeating.

12.	to carry; bring: to bear gifts.

13.	to carry in the mind or heart: to bear love; to bear malice.

14.	to transmit or spread (gossip, tales, etc.).

15.	to render; afford; give: to bear witness; to bear testimony.

16.	to lead; guide; take: They bore him home.

17.	to have and be entitled to: to bear title.

18.	to exhibit; show: to bear a resemblance.

19.	to accept or have, as an obligation: to bear responsibility; to bear the cost.

20.	to stand in (a relation or ratio); have or show correlatively: the relation that price bears to profit.

21.	to possess, as a quality or characteristic; have in or on: to bear traces; to bear an inscription.

22.	to have and use; exercise: to bear authority; to bear sway.

–verb (used without object)

23.	to tend in a course or direction; move; go: to bear west; to bear left at the fork in the road.

24.	to be located or situated: The lighthouse bears due north.

25.	to bring forth young or fruit: Next year the tree will bear.

—Verb phrases

26.

bear down,

a.	to press or weigh down.

b.	to strive harder; intensify one's efforts: We can't hope to finish unless everyone bears down.

c.	Nautical. to approach from windward, as a ship: The cutter was bearing down the channel at twelve knots.

27.

bear down on or upon,

a.	to press or weigh down on.

b.	to strive toward.

c.	to approach something rapidly.

d.	Nautical. to approach (another vessel) from windward: The sloop bore down on us, narrowly missing our stern.

28.

bear off,

a.	Nautical. to keep (a boat) from touching or rubbing against a dock, another boat, etc.

b.	Nautical. to steer away.

c.	Backgammon. to remove the stones from the board after they are all home.

29.	bear on or upon, to affect, relate to, or have connection with; be relevant to: This information may bear on the case.

30.	bear out, to substantiate; confirm: The facts bear me out.

31.	bear up, to endure; face hardship bravely: It is inspiring to see them bearing up so well.

32.	bear with, to be patient or forbearing with: Please bear with me until I finish the story.

—Idiom

33.	bring to bear, to concentrate on with a specific purpose: Pressure was brought to bear on those with overdue accounts.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME beren, OE beran; c. OS, OHG beran, D baren, OFris, ON bera, Goth bairan, G (ge)bären, Russ berët (he) takes, Albanian bie, Tocharian pär-, Phrygian ab-beret (he) brings, L ferre, OIr berid (he) carries, Armenian berem, Gk phérein, Skt bhárati, Avestan baraiti; < IE *bher- (see -fer, -phore

Synonyms:
1. uphold, sustain. 4. yield. 6. thrust, drive, force. 10. brook, abide, suffer. Bear, stand, endure refer to supporting the burden of something distressing, irksome, or painful. Bear and stand are close synonyms and have a general sense of withstanding: to bear a disappointment well; to stand a loss. Endure implies continued resistance and patience in bearing through a long time: to endure torture.

Usage note:
Since the latter part of the 18th century, a distinction has been made between born and borne as past participles of the verb bear¹. Borne is the past participle in all senses that do not refer to physical birth: The wheatfields have borne abundantly this year. Judges have always borne a burden of responsibility. Borne is also the participle when the sense is “to bring forth (young)” and the focus is on the mother rather than on the child. In such cases, borne is preceded by a form of have or followed by by: Anna had borne a son the previous year. Two children borne by her earlier were already grown. When the focus is on the offspring or on something brought forth as if by birth, born is the standard spelling, and it occurs only in passive constructions: My friend was born in Ohio. No children have been born at the South Pole. A strange desire was born of the tragic experience. Born is also an adjective meaning “by birth,” “innate,” or “native”: born free; a born troublemaker; Mexican-born.

bear

2 [bair]

noun, plural bears, (especially collectively

) bear, adjective, verb, beared, bear⋅ing.

–noun

1.	any of the plantigrade, carnivorous or omnivorous mammals of the family Ursidae, having massive bodies, coarse heavy fur, relatively short limbs, and almost rudimentary tails.

2.	any of various animals resembling the bear, as the ant bear.

3.	a gruff, burly, clumsy, bad-mannered, or rude person.

4.	a person who believes that market prices, esp. of stocks, will decline (opposed to bull ).

5.	Informal. a person who shows great ability, enthusiasm, stamina, etc.: a bear for physics.

6.	(initial capital letter) Astronomy. either of two constellations, Ursa Major or Ursa Minor.

7.	Informal. a player at cards who rarely bluffs.

8.	(initial capital letter) Russia.

–adjective

9.	having to do with or marked by declining prices, as of stocks: bear market.

–verb (used with object)

10.	Stock Exchange. to force prices down in (a market, stock, etc.).

—Idiom

11.	loaded for bear, Informal. fully prepared and eager to initiate or deal with a fight, confrontation, or trouble: Keep away from the boss—he's loaded for bear today.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME be(a)re, beor(e), OE bera; c. Fris bār, D beer, OHG bero (G Bär); < Gmc *beran- lit., the brown one; akin to ON bjǫrn, bersi; cf. Lith bė́ras brown. Cf. bruin

Related forms:

bearlike, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source

Link To bare

bare¹ (bâr)

adj. bar·er, bar·est

Lacking the usual or appropriate covering or clothing; naked: a bare arm.
Exposed to view; undisguised: bare fangs.
Lacking the usual furnishings, equipment, or decoration: bare walls.
Having no addition, adornment, or qualification: the bare facts. See Synonyms at empty.
Just sufficient; mere: the bare necessities.
Obsolete Bareheaded.

tr.v. bared, bar·ing, bares

To make bare; uncover or reveal: bared their heads; baring secrets.
To expose: The dog bared its teeth.

[Middle English bar, from Old English bær; see bhoso- in Indo-European roots.]
bare'ness n.

bare² (bâr)

v. Archaic
A past tense of bear¹.

Bare

Bare\, a. [OE. bar, bare, AS. b[ae]r; akin to D. & G. baar, OHG. par, Icel. berr, Sw. & Dan. bar, OSlav. bos? barefoot, Lith. basas; cf. Skr. bh[=a]s to shine ?.]

1. Without clothes or covering; stripped of the usual covering; naked; as, his body is bare; the trees are bare.

2. With head uncovered; bareheaded.

When once thy foot enters the church, be bare. --Herbert.

3. Without anything to cover up or conceal one's thoughts or actions; open to view; exposed.

Bare in thy guilt, how foul must thou appear! --Milton.

4. Plain; simple; unadorned; without polish; bald; meager. "Uttering bare truth." --Shak.

5. Destitute; indigent; empty; unfurnished or scantily furnished; -- used with of (rarely with in) before the thing wanting or taken away; as, a room bare of furniture. "A bare treasury." --Dryden.

6. Threadbare; much worn.

It appears by their bare liveries that they live by your bare words. --Shak.

7. Mere; alone; unaccompanied by anything else; as, a bare majority. "The bare necessaries of life." --Addison.

Nor are men prevailed upon by bare of naked truth. --South.

Under bare poles (Naut.), having no sail set.

Bare

Bare\, n. 1. Surface; body; substance. [R.]

You have touched the very bare of naked truth. --Marston.

2. (Arch.) That part of a roofing slate, shingle, tile, or metal plate, which is exposed to the weather.

Bare

Bare\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bared(?); p. pr. & vb. n. Baring.] [AS. barian. See Bare, a.] To strip off the covering of; to make bare; as, to bare the breast.

Bare

Bare\ Bore; the old preterit of Bear, v.

Language Translation for : bare

Spanish: desnudo, descubierto,

German: bloß,

Japanese: 裸の

More Translations »

bare

O.E. bær "naked, uncovered," from P.Gmc. *bazaz (cf. Ger. bar, O.N. berr, Du. baar), from PIE *bhosos (cf. Arm. bok "naked;" O.C.S. bosu, Lith. basas "barefoot"). Meaning "sheer, absolute" (1205) is from the notion of "complete in itself." The verb is O.E. barian.

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