Standard Lemma guide

bare

adj · adv · name · noun · verb · 30 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • bâr
  • Received-Pronunciation: /bɛə/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /bɛː/
  • General-American: /bɛɚ/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian: /beː/
  • Australian: [beː~bɛː]
  • New-Zealand: /beə/ without the cheer–chair merger
  • /biə/ New Zealand, cheer–chair merger
  • Scotland: /beɹ/
  • /bɜː(ɹ)/ Lancashire, fair–fur merger
  • rhymes with -ɛə(ɹ)
  • homophone: bear
  • homophone: beer (cheer–chair merger)
  • homophone: burr (fair–fur merger)
  • CMU ARPABET: B EH1 R Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Minimal; that is or are just sufficient.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • a bare majority

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: mere, minimal

Antonyms: ample, plentiful, sufficient

2

adj

Meaning 2

Naked, uncovered.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: exposed, naked, nude, uncovered, undressed

Antonyms: covered, covered up, dressed, unexposed

3

adj

Meaning 3

Having no supplies.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • a room bare of furniture
  • The cupboard was bare.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: empty, unfurnished, unstocked, unsupplied

Antonyms: full, furnished, stocked, supply, supplied, well-stocked

4

adj

Meaning 4

Having no decoration.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The walls of this room are bare — why not hang some paintings on them?

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: empty, plain, unadorned, undecorated, austere, bare, chaste, inornate, modest, quiet, severe, simple, spartan, unembellished, unextravagant, unornamented, undecked, ungarnished, untrimmed, unvarnished

Antonyms: adorned, decorated, ornate, bedizened, blatant, blingish, brash, campy, catchpenny, chichi, chintzy, corny, crass, crude, flashy, flaunting, florid, flossy, froufrou, garish, gauche, gaudy, gay, glaring, gross, gussied up, hideous, kitsch, kitschy, loud, meretricious, naff, obtrusive, ostentatious, pizazzy, pretentious, ritzy, raffish, schlocky, showy, snazzy, splendiferous, tacky, tasteless, tawdry, tinselly, too much, trinkety, unbecoming, untasteful, vain, whorish, zesty

5

adj

Meaning 5

Having had what usually covers (something) removed.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The trees were left bare after the swarm of locusts devoured all the leaves.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: despoiled, stripped, uncovered

Antonyms: covered

6

adj

Meaning 6

A lot or lots of.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Multicultural-London-English, Yorkshire, not-comparable, slang

Examples

  • It's taking bare time.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

adj

Meaning 7

With head uncovered; bareheaded.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: uncovered

Antonyms: none provided

8

adj

Meaning 8

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: apparent, displayed, bare, distinct, evident, exposed, certain, clear, indubitable, manifest, notorious, obvious, plain, unconcealed, visible

Antonyms: concealed, obscured, covered, dark, dern, hidden, invisible, inward, latent, nondisplayed, obfuscated, obfuscatory, obscure, occluded, occulted, private, recondite, secluded, secret, secreted, silent, snug, tect, unapparent, underground, undisclosed, veiled

9

adj

Meaning 9

Mere; without embellishment.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

Examples

  • bare essentials; bare necessities

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: alone, simple, only, very, bare, just, mere

Antonyms: none provided

10

adj

Meaning 10

Threadbare, very worn.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: shabby, worn-out

Antonyms: none provided

11

adj

Meaning 11

Not insured.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: noninsured, uninsured

Antonyms: none provided

12

adv

Meaning 12

Barely.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dialectal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

13

adv

Meaning 13

Very; significantly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Multicultural-London-English, slang

Examples

  • That pissed me off bare.
  • That's bare stupid.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

14

adv

Meaning 14

Without a condom.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: slang

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

15

name

Meaning 15

A surname.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

16

name

Meaning 16

A suburb of Morecambe, Lancaster district, Lancashire, England, served by Bare Lane railway station (OS grid ref SD4564).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

17

noun

Meaning 17

The surface, the (bare) skin.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

18

noun

Meaning 18

Surface; body; substance.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

19

noun

Meaning 19

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: architecture

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

20

verb

Meaning 20

To uncover; to reveal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, sometimes, transitive

Examples

  • She bared her teeth at him.
  • The tabloid newspaper promised to bare all.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

21

verb

Meaning 21

simple past of bear

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, obsolete, past

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

22

adjective

Meaning 22

lacking its natural or customary covering

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a bare hill
  • bare feet

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: covered

23

adjective

Meaning 23

not having a protective covering

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • unsheathed cables
  • a bare blade

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unsheathed

Antonyms: none provided

24

adjective satellite

Meaning 24

lacking embellishment or ornamentation

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a plain hair style
  • unembellished white walls
  • functional architecture featuring stark unornamented concrete

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: plain, spare, unembellished, unornamented

Antonyms: none provided

25

adjective satellite

Meaning 25

completely unclothed

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • bare bodies
  • naked from the waist up
  • a nude model

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: au naturel(p), naked, nude

Antonyms: none provided

26

adjective satellite

Meaning 26

having everything extraneous removed including contents

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the bare walls
  • the cupboard was bare

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: stripped

Antonyms: none provided

27

adjective satellite

Meaning 27

providing no shelter or sustenance

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • bare rocky hills
  • barren lands
  • the bleak treeless regions of the high Andes
  • the desolate surface of the moon
  • a stark landscape

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: barren, bleak, desolate, stark

Antonyms: none provided

28

adjective satellite

Meaning 28

lacking a surface finish such as paint

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • bare wood
  • unfinished furniture

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unfinished

Antonyms: none provided

29

verb

Meaning 29

lay bare

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • denude a forest
  • bare your breasts
  • bare your feelings

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: denude, denudate, strip

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: clear, uncover, expose

Narrower terms: defoliate, burn off

30

verb

Meaning 30

make public

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • She aired her opinions on welfare

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: publicize, publicise, air

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: tell

Narrower terms: hype, bulletin, publish, bring out, put out, issue, release, circulate, circularize, circularise, distribute, disseminate, propagate, broadcast, spread, diffuse, disperse, pass around, air, send, beam, transmit

History

Etymology

From Middle English bare, bar, from Old English bær (“bare, naked, open”), from Proto-West Germanic *baʀ, from Proto-Germanic *bazaz (“bare, naked”), from Proto-Indo-European *bhosós, from *bhos- (“bare, barefoot”). Cognate with Scots bare, bair (“bare”), Saterland Frisian bar (“bare”), West Frisian baar (“bare”), Dutch bar (“bare”), German bar (“bare”), Swedish bar (“bare”), Icelandic ber (“bare”), Lithuanian basas (“barefoot, bare”), Polish bosy (“barefoot”).

From Middle English baren, from Old English barian, from Proto-Germanic *bazōną (“to bare, make bare”).

Inflected forms.

Across languages

Translations

154 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: най-малък (naj-malǎk) — minimal
  • Finnish: pelkkä — minimal
  • French: minimal — minimal
  • Ancient Greek: ψιλός (psilós) — minimal
  • Hungarian: csekély — minimal
  • Hungarian: elenyésző — minimal
  • Hungarian: minimális — minimal
  • Hungarian: puszta — minimal
  • Italian: basilare — minimal
  • Kabuverdianu: inban — minimal
  • Manx: lhome — minimal
  • Norwegian Bokmål: minimal — minimal
  • Russian: едва́ доста́точный (jedvá dostátočnyj) — minimal
  • Scottish Gaelic: lom — minimal
  • Spanish: mínimo — minimal
  • Ottoman Turkish: قورو (kuru) — minimal
  • Armenian: մերկ (merk) — naked, uncovered
  • Armenian: տկլոր (tklor) — naked, uncovered
  • Basque: has — naked, uncovered
  • Bulgarian: гол (gol) — naked, uncovered
  • Bulgarian: непокрит (nepokrit) — naked, uncovered
  • Chinese Mandarin: 裸 (luǒ) — naked, uncovered
  • Chinese Mandarin: 赤裸 (chìluǒ) — naked, uncovered
  • Danish: bar — naked, uncovered
  • Dutch: bloot — naked, uncovered
  • Esperanto: nuda — naked, uncovered
  • Faroese: berur — naked, uncovered
  • Finnish: paljas — naked, uncovered
  • French: nu — naked, uncovered
  • French: nue — naked, uncovered
  • West-Frisian: keal — naked, uncovered
  • German: bar — naked, uncovered
  • German: nackt — naked, uncovered
  • Gothic: 𐌽𐌰𐌵𐌰𐌸𐍃 (naqaþs) — naked, uncovered
  • Ancient Greek: γυμνός (gumnós) — naked, uncovered
  • Ancient Greek: ψιλός (psilós) — naked, uncovered
  • Hungarian: csupasz — naked, uncovered
  • Hungarian: pőre — naked, uncovered
  • Hungarian: meztelen — naked, uncovered
  • Ingrian: paljas — naked, uncovered
  • Ingrian: paljakas — naked, uncovered
  • Irish: lom — naked, uncovered
  • Italian: nudo — naked, uncovered
  • Italian: nuda — naked, uncovered
  • Korean: 맨 (maen) — naked, uncovered
  • Latin: nudus — naked, uncovered
  • Latin: nuda — naked, uncovered
  • Latin: nudum — naked, uncovered
  • Latvian: pliks — naked, uncovered
  • Manx: lhome — naked, uncovered
  • Norman: nu — naked, uncovered
  • Norwegian Bokmål: naken — naked, uncovered
  • Norwegian Bokmål: bar — naked, uncovered
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: naken — naked, uncovered
  • Old English: bær — naked, uncovered
  • Persian: برهنه (berahne) — naked, uncovered
  • Portuguese: nu — naked, uncovered
  • Russian: го́лый (gólyj) — naked, uncovered
  • Sanskrit: ऋक्ष (ṛkṣa) — naked, uncovered
  • Scottish Gaelic: rùisgte — naked, uncovered
  • Scottish Gaelic: lom — naked, uncovered
  • Scottish Gaelic: lomnochd — naked, uncovered
  • Serbo-Croatian: nag — naked, uncovered
  • Serbo-Croatian: go — naked, uncovered
  • Spanish: desnudo — naked, uncovered
  • Swedish: bar — naked, uncovered
  • Tagalog: hubad — naked, uncovered
  • Turkish: çıplak — naked, uncovered
  • Ottoman Turkish: عریان (ʼuryan) — naked, uncovered
  • Vietnamese: trần — naked, uncovered
  • Vietnamese: trơ — naked, uncovered
  • Vietnamese: trụi — naked, uncovered
  • Volapük: nüdik — naked, uncovered
  • Walloon: nou — naked, uncovered
  • Finnish: tyhjä — having no supplies
  • Hungarian: kopár — having no supplies
  • Hungarian: üres — having no supplies
  • Hungarian: csupasz — having no supplies
  • Hungarian: puszta — having no supplies
  • Irish: lom — having no supplies
  • Italian: privo — having no supplies
  • Italian: vuoto — having no supplies
  • Kabuverdianu: inban — having no supplies
  • Scottish Gaelic: lom — having no supplies
  • Bulgarian: прост (prost) — having no decoration
  • Bulgarian: неукрасен (neukrasen) — having no decoration
  • Dutch: kaal — having no decoration
  • Finnish: tyhjä — having no decoration
  • Finnish: paljas — having no decoration
  • Hungarian: csupasz — having no decoration
  • Hungarian: kopár — having no decoration
  • Hungarian: dísztelen — having no decoration
  • Irish: lom — having no decoration
  • Italian: nudo — having no decoration
  • Italian: grezzo — having no decoration
  • Latvian: pliks — having no decoration
  • Norwegian Bokmål: bar — having no decoration
  • Norwegian Bokmål: udekket — having no decoration
  • Persian: لخت (loxt) — having no decoration
  • Russian: пусто́й (pustój) — having no decoration
  • Russian: го́лый (gólyj) — having no decoration
  • Scottish Gaelic: lom — having no decoration
  • Spanish: desnudo — having no decoration
  • Bulgarian: оголен (ogolen) — having had what usually covers (something) removed
  • Finnish: paljas — having had what usually covers (something) removed
  • Ancient Greek: ψιλός (psilós) — having had what usually covers (something) removed
  • Hungarian: puszta — having had what usually covers (something) removed
  • Hungarian: csupasz — having had what usually covers (something) removed
  • Hungarian: pőre — having had what usually covers (something) removed
  • Irish: lom — having had what usually covers (something) removed
  • Italian: spoglio — having had what usually covers (something) removed
  • Norwegian Bokmål: bar — having had what usually covers (something) removed
  • Norwegian Bokmål: udekket — having had what usually covers (something) removed
  • Norwegian Bokmål: naken — having had what usually covers (something) removed
  • Norwegian Bokmål: snau — having had what usually covers (something) removed
  • Norwegian Bokmål: flein — having had what usually covers (something) removed
  • Polish: goły — having had what usually covers (something) removed
  • Scottish Gaelic: lom — having had what usually covers (something) removed
  • Scottish Gaelic: rùisgte — having had what usually covers (something) removed
  • Spanish: desnudo — having had what usually covers (something) removed
  • Spanish: morondo — having had what usually covers (something) removed
  • Spanish: moroncho — having had what usually covers (something) removed
  • Swedish: bar — having had what usually covers (something) removed
  • Tagalog: nahubaran — having had what usually covers (something) removed
  • Finnish: rutosti — slang words meaning "lot or lots of"
  • Hungarian: csomó — slang words meaning "lot or lots of"
  • Hungarian: rakás — slang words meaning "lot or lots of"
  • Norwegian Bokmål: mye — slang words meaning "lot or lots of"
  • Norwegian Bokmål: masse — slang words meaning "lot or lots of"
  • Finnish: tosi — slang words meaning "very, significantly"
  • Hungarian: tök — slang words meaning "very, significantly"
  • Hungarian: tökre — slang words meaning "very, significantly"
  • Norwegian Bokmål: veldig — slang words meaning "very, significantly"
  • Norwegian Bokmål: svært — slang words meaning "very, significantly"
  • Finnish: paljaalla — without condom
  • Norwegian Bokmål: bareback — without condom
  • Norwegian Bokmål: ubeskyttet — without condom
  • Portuguese: no pelo — without condom
  • Finnish: paljastaa — to uncover, reveal
  • Finnish: näyttää — to uncover, reveal
  • Hungarian: kitakar — to uncover, reveal
  • Hungarian: felfed — to uncover, reveal
  • Hungarian: kimutat — to uncover, reveal
  • Hungarian: kivillant — to uncover, reveal
  • Icelandic: bera — to uncover, reveal
  • Ingrian: paljastaa — to uncover, reveal
  • Latin: nudo — to uncover, reveal
  • Māori: whakatetē — to uncover, reveal
  • Māori: whakapakiri — to uncover, reveal
  • Norwegian Bokmål: avdekke — to uncover, reveal
  • Norwegian Bokmål: vise — to uncover, reveal
  • Russian: обнажить (obnažitʹ) — to uncover, reveal
  • Spanish: descubrir — to uncover, reveal
  • Volapük: nüdükön — to uncover, reveal