bare
♦ bare /b'eər/ (barer barest bares baring bared)
1 [ADJ]
If a part of your body is bare, it is not covered by any clothing.
She was wearing only a thin robe over a flimsy nightdress, and her feet were bare...
She had bare arms and a bare neck.
2 [ADJ] usu ADJ n
A bare surface is not covered or decorated with anything.
They would have liked bare wooden floors throughout the house.
3 [ADJ]
If a tree or a branch is bare, it has no leaves on it.
...an old, twisted tree, its bark shaggy, many of its limbs brittle and bare.
4 [ADJ]
If a room, cupboard, or shelf is bare, it is empty.
His fridge was bare apart from three very withered tomatoes...
He led me through to a bare, draughty interviewing room.
5 [ADJ]
An area of ground that is bare has no plants growing on it.
That's probably the most bare, bleak, barren and inhospitable island I've ever seen.
6 [ADJ] det ADJ
If someone gives you the bare facts or the barest details of something, they tell you only the most basic and important things.
Newspaper reporters were given nothing but the bare facts by the Superintendent in charge of the investigation.
= plain
7 [ADJ] det ADJ
If you talk about the bare minimum or the bare essentials, you mean the very least that is necessary.
The army would try to hold the western desert with a bare minimum of forces...
These are the bare essentials you'll need to dress your baby during the first few months.
= absolute
8 [ADJ] a ADJ amount
Bare is used in front of an amount to emphasize how small it is.
Sales are growing for premium wines, but at a bare 2 percent a year.
= mere
9 [VERB] V n
If you bare something, you uncover it and show it. (WRITTEN)
Walsh bared his teeth in a grin...
10
bare bones: see bone
11 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If someone does something with their bare hands, they do it without using any weapons or tools.
Police believe the killer punched her to death with his bare hands...
Rescuers were using their bare hands to reach the trapped miners.
12 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you lay something bare, you uncover it completely so that it can then be seen.
The clearing out of disused workshops laid bare thousands of Italianate glazed tiles.
= expose
13 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you lay bare something or someone, you reveal or expose them.
No one wants to expose themselves, lay their feelings bare.
1 [ADJ]
If a part of your body is bare, it is not covered by any clothing.
She was wearing only a thin robe over a flimsy nightdress, and her feet were bare...
She had bare arms and a bare neck.
2 [ADJ] usu ADJ n
A bare surface is not covered or decorated with anything.
They would have liked bare wooden floors throughout the house.
3 [ADJ]
If a tree or a branch is bare, it has no leaves on it.
...an old, twisted tree, its bark shaggy, many of its limbs brittle and bare.
4 [ADJ]
If a room, cupboard, or shelf is bare, it is empty.
His fridge was bare apart from three very withered tomatoes...
He led me through to a bare, draughty interviewing room.
5 [ADJ]
An area of ground that is bare has no plants growing on it.
That's probably the most bare, bleak, barren and inhospitable island I've ever seen.
6 [ADJ] det ADJ
If someone gives you the bare facts or the barest details of something, they tell you only the most basic and important things.
Newspaper reporters were given nothing but the bare facts by the Superintendent in charge of the investigation.
= plain
7 [ADJ] det ADJ
If you talk about the bare minimum or the bare essentials, you mean the very least that is necessary.
The army would try to hold the western desert with a bare minimum of forces...
These are the bare essentials you'll need to dress your baby during the first few months.
= absolute
8 [ADJ] a ADJ amount
Bare is used in front of an amount to emphasize how small it is.
Sales are growing for premium wines, but at a bare 2 percent a year.
= mere
9 [VERB] V n
If you bare something, you uncover it and show it. (WRITTEN)
Walsh bared his teeth in a grin...
10
bare bones: see bone
11 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If someone does something with their bare hands, they do it without using any weapons or tools.
Police believe the killer punched her to death with his bare hands...
Rescuers were using their bare hands to reach the trapped miners.
12 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you lay something bare, you uncover it completely so that it can then be seen.
The clearing out of disused workshops laid bare thousands of Italianate glazed tiles.
= expose
13 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you lay bare something or someone, you reveal or expose them.
No one wants to expose themselves, lay their feelings bare.