fare

F4A1R1E1
UK/ˈfɛə/UK[ˈfɛə̯]UK[ˈfɛː]British, Southern, Standard/ˈfɛː/

noun

A going; journey; travel; voyage; course; passage.

“bus fare”

CommonScrabble 7

Meanings

fare1

nounfare (countable and uncountable, plural fares)

plural fares

  1. countableobsoleteuncountableA going; journey; travel; voyage; course; passage.

    thoroughfare

    Synonyms: journey, sith, trip

  2. countableMoney paid for a transport ticket.

    bus fare

    2 more examples

    train fare

    taxi fare

    Synonyms: transportation

  3. countableA paying passenger, especially in a taxi.
  4. uncountableFood and drink.

    Bell pushes labelled "Steward" proved to be more than ornamental, even though gassy mineral waters may not be the ideal fare for a narrow-gauge journey.

    1958 July 28, R. K. Kirkland, “Into the Mountains on the Festiniog Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 452
    1 more example

    “[…] She takes the whole thing with desperate seriousness. But the others are all easy and jovial—thinking about the good fare that is soon to be eaten, about the hired fly, about anything.”

    1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XVI, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC
  5. uncountableSupplies for consumption or pleasure.

    The television channel tended to broadcast unremarkable downmarket fare.

    1 more example

    Just another channel that offers the usual fare of makeover programs and reruns of old sitcoms.

  6. UKcountableslangcrimeA prostitute's client.

    Synonyms: all-nighter, curb crawler, gonk, jane, Jane, jockey, john, kerb crawler

fare2

verbfare (third-person singular simple present fares, present participle faring, simple past and past participle fared)

present singular third person fares · participle present faring · participle past fared · past fared

  1. Used to express evaluations [with adverbial complement].
    1. intransitiveTo experience luck, fortune or treatment (of a certain kind).

      Did you fare well in the exam?

      5 more examples

      She fared badly in the accident.

      So fares the stag among the enraged hounds.

      1642, John Denham, Cooper's Hill

      There are many discomforting gaps in statistics about the book trades generally, but the reprint sector fares worst—it has no statistical summary or trend reports based on factual evidence.

      1972, Carol A. Nemeyer, Scholarly Reprint Publishing in the United States, New York, N.Y.: R. R. Bowker Co., →ISBN, page 8

      Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits. Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.

      2013 July 19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34

      While long-distance and commuter rail travel still fared well, train travel to seaside resorts was perhaps inevitably falling away.

      2023 March 8, Howard Johnston, “Was Marples the real railway wreccker?”, in RAIL, number 978, page 51

      Synonyms: do, get along, manage, cope

    2. intransitiveTo proceed or progress (in a certain way).

      We will continue to monitor how the hurricane fares against projected models.

      1 more example

      He was a man of Spartan habits, and at sixty was scrupulous about his diet at your table, excusing himself by saying that he must eat sparingly and fare hard, as became a soldier or one who was fitting himself for difficult enterprises, a life of exposure.

      1859, Henry David Thoreau, A Plea for Captain John Brown

      Synonyms: do, act, behave, measure up, stack up

    3. impersonalintransitiveTo happen or occur (in a certain way).

      We shall see how it fares with him.

      2 more examples

      So fares it when with truth falsehood contends.

      1671, John Milton, “The First Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 3

      Let me only say that it fared with him as with the storm-tossed ship, that miserably drives along the leeward land.

      1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, chapter 23

      Synonyms: go, turn out, work out, develop, unfold

  2. archaicintransitiveTo go; to travel.

    Behold! A knight fares forth.

    3 more examples

    […]And fared like a furious wyld Beare, / Whose whelpes are stolne away, she being otherwhere.

    1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto XI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC

    I know that this was Life,—the track ⁠Whereon with equal feet we fared; ⁠And then, as now, the day prepared The daily burden for the back.

    1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXV”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 42

    Then he came down rejoicing and said, "I have seen what seemeth to be a city as 'twere a pigeon." Hereat we rejoiced and, ere an hour of the day had passed, the buildings showed plain in the offing and we asked the Captain, "What is the name of yonder city?" and he answered "By Allah I wot not, for I never saw it before and never sailed these seas in my life: but, since our troubles have ended in safety, remains for you only to land their with your merchandise and, if you find selling profitable, sell and make your market of what is there; and if not, we will rest here two days and provision ourselves and fare away.

    1885, Richard F. Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Night 17
  3. archaicintransitiveTo eat; to dine.

    There was a certain rich man which […] fared sumptuously every day.

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 16:19

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA going; journey; travel; voyage; course; passage.

nounMoney paid for a transport ticket.

verbTo experience luck, fortune or treatment (of a certain kind).

verbTo proceed or progress (in a certain way).

verbTo happen or occur (in a certain way).

More synonyms by meaning

nounan agenda of things to do

Similar

nounthe sum charged for riding in a public conveyance

Broader

verbproceed or get along

Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

fare · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-“a going, passage”
  2. Proto-Germanic*farą
  3. Old Englishfær“journey, road”
  4. Middle Englishfare
  5. Englishfare

From Middle English fare, from a merger of Old English fær (“journey, road”) and faru (“journey, companions, baggage”), from Proto-Germanic *farą and *farō (“journey, fare”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“a going, passage”).

Full word history & related roots →

fare · verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-“a going, passage”
  2. Proto-Germanic*faraną
  3. Proto-West Germanic*faran
  4. Old Englishfaran“to travel, journey”
  5. Middle Englishfaren
  6. Englishfare

From Middle English faren, from Old English faran (“to travel, journey”), from Proto-West Germanic *faran, from Proto-Germanic *faraną, from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“a going, passage”). Cognate with West Frisian farre, Dutch varen (“to sail”), German fahren (“to travel”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål fare, Norwegian Nynorsk and Icelandic fara (“to go”) and Swedish fara (“to travel”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ναῦλος
  • ναῦλος (naûlos)money paid for a transport ticket
Arabic أُجْرَة, تَوْصِيلَة
  • أُجْرَة (ʔujra)money paid for a transport ticket
  • تَوْصِيلَة (tawṣīla)money paid for a transport ticket
  • مُسَافِر (musāfir)paying passenger
  • سَافِر (sāfir)paying passenger
  • طَعَام (ṭaʕām)food and drink
Bulgarian цена́ на биле́т, пъ́тник
  • цена́ на биле́т (cená na bilét)money paid for a transport ticket
  • пъ́тник (pắtnik)paying passenger
  • пасаже́р (pasažér)paying passenger
  • прови́зии (provízii)food and drink
  • ставам (stavam)to experience fortune or treatment of a certain kind
  • случвам се (slučvam se)to experience fortune or treatment of a certain kind
Catalan tarifa
  • tarifamoney paid for a transport ticket
Chinese Mandarin 車費 /车费, 乘客
  • 車費 /车费 (chēfèi)money paid for a transport ticket
  • 乘客 (chéngkè)paying passenger
Czech jízdné, cestující
  • jízdnémoney paid for a transport ticket
  • cestujícípaying passenger
  • vyjítto experience fortune or treatment of a certain kind
  • vycházetto experience fortune or treatment of a certain kind
  • dopadnoutto happen in a certain way
Danish billetpris, kunde
  • billetprismoney paid for a transport ticket
  • kundepaying passenger
Dutch veergeld, veerloon
  • veergeldmoney paid for a transport ticket
  • veerloonmoney paid for a transport ticket
  • vervoersprijsmoney paid for a transport ticket
  • betalende passagierpaying passenger
  • reizigerpaying passenger
  • opvarendepaying passenger
  • dieetfood and drink
  • levensmiddelenfood and drink
  • voorraadsupplies for consumption or pleasure
  • voorraadjesupplies for consumption or pleasure
  • proviandsupplies for consumption or pleasure
  • het doento experience fortune or treatment of a certain kind
Esperanto farti
  • fartito experience fortune or treatment of a certain kind
Estonian sõitja
  • sõitjapaying passenger
Finnish ajomaksu, matkalipun hinta
  • ajomaksumoney paid for a transport ticket
  • matkalipun hintamoney paid for a transport ticket
  • matkustajapaying passenger
  • asiakaspaying passenger
  • pokapaying passenger
  • ruoka ja juomafood and drink
  • tarvikkeetsupplies for consumption or pleasure
  • pärjätäto experience fortune or treatment of a certain kind
  • käydäto happen in a certain way
French tarif, prix
  • tarifmoney paid for a transport ticket
  • prixmoney paid for a transport ticket
  • passagerpaying passenger
  • se passerto happen in a certain way
German Reise, Fahrt
  • Reisevoyage
  • Fahrtvoyage
  • Fahrpreismoney paid for a transport ticket
  • Fahrgebührmoney paid for a transport ticket
  • Frachtmoney paid for a transport ticket
  • Fahrgastpaying passenger
  • Passagierpaying passenger
  • Verköstigungfood and drink
  • Mahlzeitfood and drink
  • Essen und Trinkenfood and drink
  • Essensvorratsupplies for consumption or pleasure
  • Verpflegungsupplies for consumption or pleasure
  • klarkommento experience fortune or treatment of a certain kind
  • gehento happen in a certain way
  • ergehento happen in a certain way
  • laufento happen in a certain way
Greek ναύλα, επιβάτης
  • ναύλα (návla)money paid for a transport ticket
  • επιβάτης (epivátis)paying passenger
Hebrew דמי נסיעה, תעריף
  • דמי נסיעה (dmey nesiá)money paid for a transport ticket
  • תעריף (taaríf)money paid for a transport ticket
Hindi किराया
  • किराया (kirāyā)money paid for a transport ticket
Hungarian utas, boldogul
  • utaspaying passenger
  • boldogulto experience fortune or treatment of a certain kind
Italian tariffa, prezzo
  • tariffamoney paid for a transport ticket
  • prezzomoney paid for a transport ticket
  • passeggeropaying passenger
  • vittofood and drink
  • cibofood and drink
Japanese 料金, 運賃
  • 料金 (ryōkin)money paid for a transport ticket
  • 運賃 (unchin)money paid for a transport ticket
  • 乗客 (jōkyaku)paying passenger
Korean 요금, 료금
  • 요금 (yogeum)money paid for a transport ticket
  • 료금 (ryogeum)money paid for a transport ticket
  • 운임 (unim)money paid for a transport ticket
  • 여객 (yeogaek)paying passenger
  • 려객 (ryeogaek)paying passenger
  • 승객 (seunggaek)paying passenger
Latin naulum
  • naulummoney paid for a transport ticket
Malay tambang
  • tambangmoney paid for a transport ticket
Norwegian Bokmål billettpris
  • billettprismoney paid for a transport ticket
Polish pasażer, mieć się
  • pasażerpaying passenger
  • mieć sięto experience fortune or treatment of a certain kind
  • miewać sięto experience fortune or treatment of a certain kind
Portuguese tarifa, passageiro
  • tarifamoney paid for a transport ticket
  • passageiropaying passenger
Romanian tarif, bilet
  • tarifmoney paid for a transport ticket
  • biletmoney paid for a transport ticket
Russian пое́здка, путеше́ствие
  • пое́здка (pojézdka)voyage
  • путеше́ствие (putešéstvije)voyage
  • пла́та за прое́зд (pláta za projézd)money paid for a transport ticket
  • цена́ биле́та (cená biléta)money paid for a transport ticket
  • пассажи́р (passažír)paying passenger
  • пассажи́рка (passažírka)paying passenger
  • прови́зия (provízija)food and drink
  • проду́кты (prodúkty)food and drink
Slovak cestujúci
  • cestujúcipaying passenger
Spanish pasaje, pasajero
  • pasajemoney paid for a transport ticket
  • pasajeropaying passenger
  • carrerapaying passenger
  • irleto happen in a certain way
  • salirto happen in a certain way
Swahili abiria
  • abiriapaying passenger
Swedish taxa, biljettpris
  • taxamoney paid for a transport ticket
  • biljettprismoney paid for a transport ticket
  • tariffmoney paid for a transport ticket
  • passagerarepaying passenger
  • resandepaying passenger
Tagalog pasahe, bigay-ahon
  • pasahemoney paid for a transport ticket
  • bigay-ahonmoney paid for a transport ticket
  • pasahepaying passenger
Thai ค่าโดยสาร
  • ค่าโดยสาร (kâa-dooi-sǎan)money paid for a transport ticket
Turkish ücret, yolcu
  • ücretmoney paid for a transport ticket
  • yolcupaying passenger
Urdu کِرایَہ
  • کِرایَہ (kirāya)money paid for a transport ticket
Vietnamese tiền xe, tiền đò
  • tiền xemoney paid for a transport ticket
  • tiền đòmoney paid for a transport ticket
  • tiền phàmoney paid for a transport ticket

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with fare

All rhymes →

Sounds the same

fair (pane–pain merger)fear (cheer–chair merger)firfur (both fair–fur merger)fair (pane–pain merger)fear (cheer–chair merger)firfur (both fair–fur merger)

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

fare. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fare

MLA

“fare.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fare. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fare,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fare.

Source: fare on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.