What does "fare" mean?
Fare: To be in any state, or pass through any experience, good or bad; to be attended with any circummstances or train of events, fortunate or unfortunate; as, he fared well, or ill. So fares the stag among the enraged hounds. Denham. I bid you most heartily well to fare. Robynson (More's Utopia). So fared the knight between two foes. Hudibras.
Additional senses
- 2.To be treated or entertained at table, or with bodily or social comforts; to live. There was a certain rich man wwhich . . . fared sumptuously every day. Luke xvi.
- 3.4. To happen well, or ill; -- used impersonally; as, we shall see how it will fare with him. Sso fares it when with truth falsehood contends. Milton.
- 4.To behave; to conduct one's self. [Obs.] She ferde [fared] as she would die. Chaucer.
- 5.A journey; a passage. [Obs.] That nought might stay his fare. Spenser.
- 6.The price of passage or going; the sum paid or due for conveying a person by land or water; as, the fare for crossing a river; the fare in a coach or by railway.
- 7.Ado; bustle; business. [Obs.] The warder chid and made fare. Chaucer.
- 8.Condition or state of things; fortune; hap; cheer. What fare what news abroad Shak.
- 9.Food; provisions for the table; entertainment; as, coarse fare; delicious fare. "Philosophic fare." Dryden.
- 10.The person or persons conveyed in a vehicle; as, a full fare of passengers. A. Drummond.
- 11.The catch of fish on a fishing vessel. Bill of fare. See under Bill. -- Fare indicator or register, a device for recording the number of passengers on a street car, etc. -- Fare wicket. (a) A gate or turnstile at the entrance of toll bridges, exhibition grounds, etc., for registering the number of persons passing it. (b) An opening in the door of a street car for purchasing tickets of the driver or passing fares to the conductor. Knight.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
- Canonical URL: https://worddirectanswers.com/answers/what-does-fare-mean
- Steward: Jason Burns
- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00