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fare

Pronunciation: /fɛː/

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Definition of fare

noun

  • 1the money paid for a journey on public transport: we should go to Seville, but we cannot afford the air fare
  • a passenger paying to travel in a taxi: the taxi driver was anxious to pick up a fare
  • 2 [mass noun] a range of food of a particular type:traditional Scottish fare
  • something offered to the public, typically as a form of entertainment:those expecting conventional Hollywood fare will be disappointed

verb

[no object]
  • 1 [with adverbial] perform in a specified way in a particular situation or over a particular period:the party fared badly in the elections
  • archaic happen; turn out:beware that it fare not with you as with your predecessor
  • 2 [with adverbial of direction] archaic travel:a knight fares forth

Origin:

Old English fær, faru 'travelling, a journey or expedition', faran 'to travel', also 'get on (well or badly'), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch varen and German fahren 'to travel', Old Norse ferja 'ferry boat', also to ford. Sense 1 of the noun stems from an earlier meaning 'a journey for which a price is paid'. Noun sense 2 was originally used with reference to the quality or quantity of food provided, probably from the idea of faring well or badly

Do not confuse fare with fair. Fare means 'money paid by passengers' (a bus fare) or 'progress in a particular way' (the party fared badly in the election), whereas fair mainly means 'treating people equally; just' (a fair deal) or is used to describe hair as being light-coloured.

fare in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of fare in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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