Meaning & use
fare
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
The amount of money you must pay to travel on a bus, train, plane, or similar service.
Grammar: Countable: you can talk about one fare, two fares, or fares in general.
Patterns
- pay the fare
- the fare to somewhere
- a bus/train fare
- fare increases
The bus fare went up again this year.
She didn't have enough money for the fare home.
Children under five travel free, so you only pay one fare.
nouncountable
A passenger who pays to travel in a taxi or similar vehicle.
Grammar: In this sense it means a person, not a price, and is mostly used by taxi drivers.
Patterns
- pick up a fare
- drop off a fare
The driver picked up a fare outside the station.
He dropped his last fare at the airport and went home.
verbintransitiveformal
To get on or manage in a particular situation, especially after some time has passed.
Grammar: No object; usually used with how, well, badly, or better: How did you fare?
Patterns
- fare well/badly
- fare better/worse
- how someone fares
How did you fare in your exams?
Small shops fared badly during the recession.
The team fared better in the second half.
noununcountableliterary
The range of food served at a meal or available in a place.
Grammar: Uncountable and rather literary; often used for food that is simple or typical of a place.
Patterns
- simple fare
- traditional fare
- pub fare
The hotel offers plain but filling fare.
The festival is known for its music and its traditional fare.
Word forms
| plural | fares |
|---|---|
| third person singular | fares |
| past tense | fared |
| past participle | fared |
| -ing form | faring |
Common combinations
- pay the fare
- Please pay the fare when you get on.
- bus fare
- The bus fare is two dollars.
- fare increase
- The fare increase takes effect in March.
- fare well
- The company fared well despite the crisis.
- half fare
- Students can travel at half fare.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ticket price
- Use this when you mean the cost printed for a specific journey or event; 'fare' is the usual word for public transport.
- charge
- 'Charge' is more general and covers any fee for a service, while 'fare' is limited to travel.
- get on
- As a verb, 'get on' is more informal than 'fare' and is common in everyday speech: How did you get on?
Word family
- farebox noun
- the box on a bus where passengers put their fare
- farepayer noun
- a passenger who pays a fare, used mainly in transport policy
Commonly confused: fare or fair? fare or fee?
fare vs fair
'Fair' sounds the same but means just, light in color, or a fun event; 'fare' is about money for travel or how someone does.
fare vs fee
A 'fee' is paid for a service or membership, not for a journey on public transport.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'fare' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Fare' is the money for a bus or train trip, so option 0 fits. 'Fair' is a spelling mistake here; a club payment is a 'fee'; and 'fare' as a verb does not take an object like 'the bus'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fare”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.