yare

Y4A1R1E1
UK/jɛː/US/jɛɹ/Scotland/jeːɹ/Australia/jeː/

adjective

Ready; prepared.

“c. 1587-1612 (undated), Sir Walter Raleigh, letter to Prince Henry The lesser [ship] will come and go, leave or take, and is yare; whereas the greater is slow.”

OriginMiddle English yare ← Old English ġearu ← Proto-West Germanic *garu →
UncommonScrabble 7
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Meanings

yare1

adjectiveyare (comparative yarer, superlative yarest)

comparative yarer · superlative yarest · alternative yar

  1. archaicReady; prepared.
  2. UKdialectalReady, alert, prepared, prompt.

    […]Dismount thy tuck, be yare in thy preparation, for thy assailant is quick, skillful and deadly.

    c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv]
  3. Eager, keen, lively, handy; agile, nimble.
  4. nauticalEasily manageable and responsive to the helm; yar.

    c. 1587-1612 (undated), Sir Walter Raleigh, letter to Prince Henry The lesser [ship] will come and go, leave or take, and is yare; whereas the greater is slow.

adverbyare (comparative more yare, superlative most yare)

comparative more yare · superlative most yare · alternative yar

  1. archaicYarely.

    Hey, my hearts! Cheerly, cheerly, my hearts! Yare, yare! Take in the topsail. Tend to th'Master's whistle.[…]

    1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]

yare2

noun
  1. alternativeAlternative form of yair.

Yare3

proper noun
  1. A river in Norfolk, England, which flows into the North Sea at Great Yarmouth.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
promptyar

Origin

yare · adjective, adverb

  1. Proto-Germanic*garwaz“ready”
  2. Proto-West Germanic*garu
  3. Old Englishġearu“prepared, ready, prompt, equipped, complete, finished, yare”
  4. Middle Englishyare
  5. Englishyare

From Middle English yare, ȝare, from Old English ġearu (“prepared, ready, prompt, equipped, complete, finished, yare”), from Proto-West Germanic *garu, from Proto-Germanic *garwaz (“ready”). Cognate with Dutch gaar (“done, well-cooked”), German gar (“done, well-cooked; wholly, at all”), Icelandic görr, ger (“perfect”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Yare · proper noun

  1. Proto-Germanic*karō“complaint, moan”
  2. EnglishYare

Of Anglo-Celtic origin, the name probably means "babbling brook," from a Celtic base *gar- (“noisy, chattering”), probably related to Proto-Germanic *karō (“complaint, moan”) and Latin garrio (“to babble, chatter”).

More words from Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Russian гото́вый, подгото́вленный
  • гото́вый (gotóvyj)ready, prepared
  • подгото́вленный (podgotóvlennyj)ready, prepared

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with yare

aretherewherecarecompareairsharehairmaryrepairfairbearwearrarelayerpairawareprepareprayermayorterrorPierresparebare
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

yairyear (cheer–chair merger)yairyear (cheer–chair merger)

Anagrams

yearAyerRayeayreReayAreyEaryeyraaery
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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