# bare

Pronunciation: say "BAIR" US /bɛɚ/, UK /bɛə/

## Adjective

1. Not covered by clothing or by the covering that would normally be there, such as bare feet, bare wires, or a bare head.
   - Simple: Not covered, for example by clothes, a hat, or the usual outer layer.
   - _She rolled up her sleeves, leaving her arms bare to the elbow._
   - _The patient sat with a bare chest while the nurse attached the sensors._
2. No more than the basic minimum; only what is necessary or stated, with nothing added.
   - Simple: Only the most basic amount or facts, with nothing extra.
   - _The grant covered the bare costs of the research and nothing else._
   - _He scraped by on the bare necessities while saving for a house._
4. Without the usual contents, furniture, supplies, or decoration; empty or plain.
   - Simple: Empty, or without the furniture, things, or decorations that are usually there.
   - _The monk's cell was bare except for a wooden cross._
   - _Critics praised the bare staging, free of any scenery._
5. Open to view, with nothing covering or concealing one's thoughts or actions; exposed.
   - Simple: Open for all to see, with nothing hidden.
   - _The memoir left his private struggles bare on every page._
   - _Facing the committee, she laid her intentions bare and held nothing back._
7. A large quantity or number of; used before a noun to mean a lot of. *(dialectal, Multicultural London English, Yorkshire)*
   - Simple: A large number or amount of something.
   - _We waited bare hours for the bus to finally show up._
   - _He's got bare money saved up from his summer job._
9. Worn down until threadbare and very thin from long use.
   - Simple: So worn out that it is thin and almost falling apart.
   - _The stair carpet was bare where generations of feet had passed._
   - _Years of washing had left the towels thin and bare._

## Verb

3. To uncover something hidden, making it open to view; to reveal.
   - Simple: To show something that was hidden or covered.
   - _He chose to bare his soul to the counselor at last._
   - _The investigation bared a web of corruption inside the agency._

## Adverb

6. Without the use of a condom during sexual intercourse. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Without using a condom.
   - _Doctors warn that going bare with a new partner raises the risk of infection._
   - _The clinic counsels couples about the risks of having sex bare._
8. To a great degree; very, used before an adjective or adverb. *(dialectal, Multicultural London English)*
   - Simple: Used to mean very or extremely.
   - _The exam was bare hard, even for the top students._
   - _That last ride at the fair was bare scary._
11. Scarcely; only just; hardly at all. *(dialectal)*
   - Simple: Only just, or almost not at all.

## Noun

10. The surface of something, or the uncovered skin of the body, always used with the and followed by of.
   - Simple: The outside surface of something, or skin that has nothing covering it.

## Verb

12. Past tense of bear. Obsolete; the modern form is bore. *(obsolete)* — simple past of bear
   - Simple: Past tense of bear. An old form once used for carrying or holding something in the past.

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Lacking insurance coverage; not protected by a policy against loss.
- (noun) The exposed section of a roofing slate, shingle, tile, or metal plate left uncovered by the courses laid above it.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–2, 4–11** — This word comes from Middle English "bare" or "bar," from Old English "bær" ("bare, naked, open"), which goes back through Proto-Germanic "*bazaz" to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "bare" or "barefoot." It is related to Dutch and German "bar," Swedish "bar," and Lithuanian "basas" ("barefoot").
**Meaning 3** — Proto-Germanic *bazōną, meaning to bare or make bare, gave Old English barian, which became the Middle English verb baren.
**Meaning 12** — An old past tense of bear.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/bare (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).