bare

The word “bare” means not covered by clothing, decoration, or any other covering; exposed. In plain terms, uncovered, empty, or reduced to the essential minimum.

“Bare” is pronounced beh-uh (/bɛɚ/ in IPA).

Here is “bare” used in a sentence: “She walked across the hot sand in bare feet.”

The opposite of “bare” — its antonyms — are cover, cover up and hide.

Depending on how it is used, “bare” can be an adjective and a verb.

The word “bare” comes from Old English. From Old English bær ("bare, naked, open"), a very old Germanic word found in similar forms across German, Dutch, and Scandinavian languages.

“Bare” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Bare” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: not covered by clothing, decoration, or any other covering; exposed.

Bare and bear are homophones that sound alike but mean different things. Bare is usually an adjective meaning not covered or exposed, as in bare feet, while bear is either the animal or a verb meaning to carry or endure. Writing bear feet instead of bare feet is a common spelling mistake.

Bare and naked both describe something not covered by clothing, but bare is often used for individual parts, such as bare arms or a bare back, while naked usually describes the whole body. Bare also applies to things beyond the body, like a bare wall or bare shelf. Naked is rarely used for objects in this way.

Use bare when something lacks its usual covering or contents but the focus is on exposure, such as a bare wall or bare branches. Empty stresses that a container or space holds nothing at all. A room can be bare because it has no furniture, while a glass is empty because it holds no liquid.