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fare

American  
[fair] / fɛər /

noun

  • fares
    plural
  1. the price of conveyance or passage in a bus, train, airplane, or other vehicle.

  2. a person or persons who pay to be conveyed in a vehicle; paying passenger.

  3. a person who hires a public vehicle and its driver.

  4. food; diet.

    hearty fare.

  5. something offered to the public, for entertainment, enjoyment, consumption, etc..

    literary fare.

  6. Archaic. state of things.


verb (used without object)

  • fares,
    present (3rd person singular)
  • fared,
    past participle,  past
  • faring
    present participle
  1. to experience good or bad fortune, treatment, etc.; get on.

    He fared well in his profession.

  2. to go; turn out; happen (used impersonally).

    It fared ill with him.

  3. to go; travel.

  4. to eat and drink.

    They fared sumptuously.

fare British  
/ fɛə /

noun

  1. the sum charged or paid for conveyance in a bus, train, aeroplane, etc

  2. a paying passenger, esp when carried by taxi

  3. a range of food and drink; diet

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to get on (as specified); manage

    he fared well

  2. to turn out or happen as specified

    it fared badly with him

  3. archaic to eat

    we fared sumptuously

  4. archaic (often foll by forth) to go or travel

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Synonym Usage

See food.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future


Etymology

Origin of fare

First recorded before 1000; Middle English faren, Old English faran; cognate with German fahren, Old Norse fara, Gothic faran; akin to emporium, port 5, pram 2


Explanation

It's not fair that fare means three unrelated things. As a verb, it means to proceed or get along, as in "Fare thee well." As a noun, it can refer to the cost of travel ("Train fare is ten dollars") or to food ("Tatertots are typical cafeteria fare"). Although this word has multiple meanings, they can all be traced back to the Old English root for "journey." If you’re taking a trip, fare well! If you do fare well, you'll have a great time. A taxi looking for a fare might give you a ride to the airport (though you'll have to pay the fare). And if you didn’t bring your own food, you’ll have to eat airplane fare. Fare is a handy word to bring on a journey!

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing fare

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Instead, their booking will automatically be converted into a general admission ticket and the coach fare will be refunded.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

One morning, I joined a small congregation of commuters attempting to convince the turnstiles that our phones were, in fact, perfectly legitimate fare payment.

From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026

“Notable increases in this category include car and truck rental, airline fare and intracity transportation,” said Helen Lao of CIBC.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

Small companies did not fare as well with the Russell 2000 closing below its 200-day moving average for the first time since March 30.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

The cab driver honks at us, still waiting for his fare.

From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi

Higher fuel costs have dinged industry profits and left many travelers frustrated with flight disruptions and higher fares.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

Tharia fares better, possessing the same snarky delivery that Waititi wields when he has been in front of the camera.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

United has been able to offset most of its elevated fuel costs with higher fares, which haven’t yet deterred travelers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

The changes, it is understood, will allow regional transport partnerships to have more control over routes and fares on the bus network, without the government having to actively own it.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

But GSS’s primary source of income came from teleportation fares.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

The Dow fared worst, ending the day down 1.2%, or 653 points.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

Villaraigosa fared better than Becerra but ultimately lost the 2001 election to City Atty.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

Here is how her two new plastic pals fared when cleaning her apartment, which included a special challenge.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

The Champagne region fared less well as growers had to harvest exceptionally early after the extreme heat sped sugar buildup -- and hence natural alcohol production.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

The northmen fared much better, with their garrons and their bear-paws.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

A photographer hit the road to see how people were faring.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

In September, about half of monitored sites across the UK recorded levels considered "below normal" or lower, with southern England and Wales typically faring worst.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

The figures will show how the economy is faring in the second half amid geopolitical tensions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Tokyo shed more than two percent, with Kioxia off around 10 percent and investment giant SoftBank faring little better.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

I can’t help but think of Calliope and how she’s faring through this.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

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