bare
bare — adjective
1. with no clothes, leaves, paint, or other covering on it
with no clothes, leaves, paint, or other covering on it
The baby kicked off the blanket and lay bare in the crib.
bare = without clothes
Winter left the apple trees bare on the windy hill.
bare trees without leaves
The carpenter sanded the door until the wood was bare.
Mina's bare feet touched the cold kitchen floor at dawn.
collocation: bare feet
- bare feet
- bare skin
- bare branches
- bare wood
Grammar Patterns
bare + body part / surface / plant
Usage Note
Often describes body parts, trees, land, walls, or wood after a covering has gone. It can refer to clothing or to any usual outer layer.
Common Mistakes
2. reduced to what matters most, with nothing extra added
reduced to what matters most, with nothing extra added
The report gave the bare facts and skipped every personal detail.
collocation: bare facts
At first, the article offered only a bare outline of events.
collocation: bare outline
The room's bare design used wood, white walls, and one lamp.
The witness shared the bare truth, without guesses or extra drama.
collocation: bare truth
- bare facts
- bare outline
- bare truth
- bare design
Grammar Patterns
bare + facts / truth / outline / design
Usage Note
Common with nouns such as facts, truth, outline, or design when the speaker wants to stress simplicity or the removal of detail.
3. just enough to reach the smallest acceptable amount
just enough to reach the smallest acceptable amount
The hotel offered the bare minimum: a bed, a lamp, and soap.
fixed phrase: bare minimum
Nina passed the driving test with the bare minimum score.
the bare minimum + score
The class raised the bare minimum to rent the school bus.
The team did the bare minimum before the safety check.
do the bare minimum
- bare minimum
- bare minimum score
- the bare minimum of food
- do the bare minimum
- minimum
the core noun without the extra emphasis from bare
- least
broader word for the smallest amount
- just enough
everyday phrase with similar meaning
Grammar Patterns
bare minimum
the bare minimum of something
Usage Note
Most often appears in the phrase bare minimum. It stresses that an amount or effort is only just enough, and no more.
Common Mistakes
4. used for the simplest things you must have for life or for a task
used for the simplest things you must have for life or for a task
The refugees arrived with only the bare essentials in two bags.
collocation: bare essentials
Our first-aid box carries the bare necessities for short hikes.
collocation: bare necessities
During the blackout, families shared the bare essentials: water, rice, and candles.
The studio apartment had the bare basics for one student.
collocation: bare basics
- bare essentials
- bare necessities
- bare basics
- the bare essentials
Grammar Patterns
bare essentials
bare necessities
bare basics
Usage Note
Usually used with plural nouns for supplies or conditions that are necessary to live, travel, or complete a job.
5. having almost nothing inside, or very little furniture or equipment
having almost nothing inside, or very little furniture or equipment
By Friday night, the fridge was bare except for two eggs.
be bare except for ...
The old classroom looked bare after workers removed every desk.
After the move, the apartment stood bare for several weeks.
bare room or apartment
The shelf was bare because students bought all the notebooks.
collocation: bare shelf
- bare fridge
- bare shelf
- bare room
- bare apartment
- empty
the usual everyday word
- unfurnished
used especially when a room has no furniture
- stripped
suggests that things were removed deliberately
Grammar Patterns
be bare
bare cupboard / shelf / room / apartment
Usage Note
Common with cupboards, shelves, rooms, and apartments. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense focuses on missing contents or furniture, not missing outer covering.
6. using no tools or weapons and relying only on your hands
using no tools or weapons and relying only on your hands
Mei pulled the weeds out with her bare hands.
collocation: with bare hands
The hikers cleared stones with bare hands after the shovel broke.
The actor caught the fake snake with his bare hands.
No worker should lift broken glass with bare hands.
warning use: bare hands
- with bare hands
- catch with bare hands
- lift with bare hands
- touch with bare hands
- unarmed
focuses on not having a weapon, not on using hands directly
- empty-handed
usually means carrying nothing, not doing an action with only the hands
- manual
more formal and often about work done by hand
Grammar Patterns
with bare hands
Usage Note
Nearly always appears in the phrase with bare hands. The action is done without equipment or protection.
Common Mistakes
The most important or basic parts of something, without any extra details.
The teacher explained the bare bones of the scientific method.
Can you give me the bare bones of the plot?
the cupboard is bare
idiomUsed to say that there is no money or resources available for something.
The charity asked for donations, but the cupboard was bare.
After the budget cuts, the cupboard is bare for new projects.
lay something bare
idiomTo reveal something that was hidden or secret, or to expose something to view.
The investigation laid bare the corruption in the company.
Her diary laid bare her deepest fears and hopes.
with your bare hands
idiomUsing only your hands, without any tools or weapons.
He built the entire shed with his bare hands.
Could you really catch a fish with your bare hands?
bare — verb
1. to pull off or remove what hides something from view
to pull off or remove what hides something from view
She bared her shoulders by pulling down the dress straps.
bare + body part
Strong winds bared the roots of the pine tree.
bare + roots
Nora bared the old floorboards by pulling up the carpet.
The dog bared its teeth when the stranger touched its bowl.
collocation: bare teeth
- bare your teeth
- bare the roots
- bare the wood
- bare the floorboards
Grammar Patterns
bare something
bare your teeth
Usage Note
Object is usually a body part or a surface that had something over it. Distinguish from sense 2, where the thing revealed is abstract, such as a secret or emotion.
Common Mistakes
2. to make hidden facts, feelings, or secrets known to others
to make hidden facts, feelings, or secrets known to others
The email bared the company's secret plan to close the factory.
bare + secret plan
During the interview, Rosa bared her fears about losing the farm.
bare + feelings
The court case bared years of false records and hidden payments.
The singer's final song bared the pain behind his cheerful smile.
literary use: bare the pain
- bare the truth
- bare your feelings
- bare a secret
- bare the facts
Grammar Patterns
bare something
bare your feelings
Usage Note
Often literary or journalistic. The object is usually truth, secrets, feelings, pain, or facts rather than a physical thing.
Common Mistakes
bare — adverb
1. in some British informal speech, used before adjectives to mean very
in some British informal speech, used before adjectives to mean very
That curry is bare spicy, so grab some cold milk.
slang: bare + adjective
Jay looked bare tired after the night bus from Bristol.
The new song is bare good, and everyone knows the chorus.
informal British intensifier
Your room gets bare cold when the window stays open.
- bare spicy
- bare tired
- bare good
- bare cold
- slightly
to a small degree
Grammar Patterns
bare + adjective
Usage Note
Common in informal British slang, especially in speech and online chat. It is not suitable for careful formal writing.
Common Mistakes
2. in some British informal speech, used before verbs to mean very much
in some British informal speech, used before verbs to mean very much
I bare love the chips from that small shop.
slang: bare + verb
The class bare enjoyed the science show at the museum.
Tia bare misses her brother now he lives in Glasgow.
bare + feeling verb
The kids bare hate early practice on rainy mornings.
- bare love
- bare want
- bare miss
- bare hate
- hardly
almost not at all
Grammar Patterns
bare + verb
Usage Note
Also slang and mainly spoken. This pattern is narrower than sense 1, and many speakers prefer really or very much in standard English.
3. in some British informal speech, used before nouns to mean many or a great deal
in some British informal speech, used before nouns to mean many or a great deal of
We saw bare police cars outside the stadium after the match.
slang: bare + plural noun
There was bare traffic on the bridge before sunrise.
bare + mass noun
The twins bought bare sweets for the train ride home.
Our group has bare work to do before Friday's science fair.
informal quantity word
- bare people
- bare money
- bare traffic
- bare work to do
Grammar Patterns
bare + plural noun
bare + mass noun
Usage Note
The noun is usually plural or uncountable. Distinguish from sense 1 and sense 2, which intensify adjectives and verbs rather than naming quantity.
Word family
- barelyadverbB2
Synonym discussion
Sense: adjective/1
For adjective sense 1, bare is the most flexible word. It can describe people without clothes, but it also works for trees without leaves, feet without shoes, or wood without paint. Naked is stronger and is used mainly for people or animals with no clothes at all. Uncovered is more neutral and often suits objects, containers, or surfaces. Exposed goes further: it often suggests that something is open to danger, weather, or public view. So a baby can be bare in a crib, a bowl can be uncovered on the table, and wires left in the rain are exposed. A hill in winter may look bare, but exposed if nothing protects it from the wind.
Etymology
Bare comes from Old English bær, which meant uncovered, naked, or empty. It is related to older Germanic words with the same basic idea. The physical sense is the oldest one, and later English extended it to meanings such as only the minimum, or showing something hidden.