bare

adjective

/beə(r)/

/ber/

Idioms

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not covered by any clothes
- She likes to walk around in bare feet.
- They wore shabby clothes and their feet were bare.
- His bare legs were covered in wiry golden hairs.
see also barefoot
(of trees or countryside) not covered with leaves; without plants or trees
- The winter sun filtered through the bare branches of the trees.
- a bare mountainside
- We looked out over a bare, open landscape, stripped of vegetation.
Extra Examples
- The windows looked out onto a bare field.
- They spent a cold night on the bare mountainside.
- The flowers stood out like jewels against the dark, bare soil.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verbs
- be
- look
- remain
- …
adverb
- very
- completely
- quite
- …
preposition
- of
See full entry
(of surfaces and objects) not covered with or protected by anything
- bare wooden floorboards
- Bare wires were sticking out of the cable.
- The walls were bare except for a clock.
- The only lighting was a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling.
- The walls have been stripped bare.
Homophones bare | bear
bare bear
/beə(r)/

/ber/
- bare adjective
  The room looked strangely bare without the furniture.
- bear noun
  Staff reported finding polar bear tracks in the snow.
- bear verb
  How can you bear this awful noise?
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verbs
- be
- look
- remain
- …
adverb
- very
- completely
- quite
- …
preposition
- of
See full entry
(of a room, cupboard, etc.) empty
- The fridge was completely bare.
- bare shelves
- bare of something The house was almost bare of furniture.
Extra Examples
- The room looked strangely bare without the furniture.
- The room was completely bare.
- At many stores bare shelves greeted shoppers.
- They found themselves in a huge bare hall.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verbs
- be
- look
- remain
- …
adverb
- very
- completely
- quite
- …
preposition
- of
See full entry
[only before noun] just enough; the most basic or simple
- The family was short of even the bare necessities of life.
- We only had the bare essentials in the way of equipment.
- He did the bare minimum of work but still passed the exam.
- She gave me only the bare facts of the case.
- It was the barest hint of a smile.
- Nothing more is known apart from the bare statement issued to the press.
Synonyms plain
plain
- simple
- stark
- bare
- unequivocal
These words all describe statements, often about something unpleasant, that are very clear, not trying to hide anything, and not using more words than necessary.
- plain used for talking about a fact that other people may not like to hear; honest and direct in a way that other people may not like:
  The plain fact is that nobody really knows.
- simple [only before noun] used for talking about a fact that other people may not like to hear; very obvious and not complicated by anything else:
  The simple truth is that we just can’t afford it.
plain or simple?When it is being used to emphasize facts that other people may not like to hear, plain is usually used in the expression the plain fact/truth is that… Simple can be used in this way too, but it can also be used in a wider variety of structures and collocations (such as reason and matter): The problem was due to the simple fact that… • The problem was due to the plain fact that… • for the plain reason that… • It’s a plain matter of… Expressions with simple often suggest impatience with other people’s behaviour.
- stark (rather formal) used for describing an unpleasant fact or difference that is very obvious:
  The stark truth is that there is not enough money left.
  The simple/plain truth may be something that some people do not want to hear, but it may be good for them to hear it anyway. The stark truth is something particularly unpleasant and has no good side to it at all.
- bare [only before noun] the most basic or simple, with nothing extra:
  She gave me only the bare facts of the case.
- unequivocal (formal) expressing your opinion or intention very clearly and firmly:
  The reply was an unequivocal ‘no’.
Patterns
- the plain/simple/stark/bare/unequivocal truth
- a(n) plain/simple/stark/bare/unequivocal fact/statement
- a(n) plain/simple/unequivocal answer

Word OriginOld English bær (noun), barian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch baar.

Idioms

the bare bones (of something)

the basic facts
- the bare bones of the story

the cupboard is bare

(British English) used to say that there is no money for something
- They are seeking more funds but the cupboard is bare.

lay something bare

(formal) to show something that was covered or to make something known that was secret
- Every aspect of their private lives has been laid bare.

with your bare hands

without weapons or tools
- He was capable of killing a man with his bare hands.
- We pulled the wall down with our bare hands.