pare

verb

ˈper How to pronounce pare (audio)
pared; paring
Synonyms of pare

transitive verb

1
: to trim off an outside, excess, or irregular part of
pare apples
paring his nails
2
: to diminish or reduce by or as if by paring
pare expenses
the novel was pared down to 200 pages
parer noun

Synonyms of pare

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Examples of pare in a Sentence

The company has to find a way to pare expenses. pared the stray branches on the tree
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
There were no major surprises after the team made its final cuts, paring the roster down to 53 players days ahead of the flight to Melbourne, Australia, for Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams. — Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 31 Aug. 2026 In the years since his death, demos and early drafts sung in concert have shown how deliberately Elliott pared his lyrics back and tinkered with phrases, sometimes changing lines even after an album was finished. — Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026 Quiet luxury has also taken a more casual turn this summer, thanks in no small part to recent looks sported by the likes of Meghan Markle and Cate Blanchett, who have shown how the aesthetic can be pared back and even playful. — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 26 Aug. 2026 However, because of how Capcom designed the control scheme in Dragon's Dogma 2, it was pared down across the board. — Gabriel Zamora, PC Magazine, 26 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for pare

Word History

Etymology

Middle English paren, borrowed from Anglo-French parer "to make, prepare, adorn, trim, cut off," going back to Latin parāre "to supply, provide, make ready," probably verbal derivative of a nominal base *paro-, formed from parere "to give birth to, bring into being, produce" — more at parturient

Note: The Latin verb is alternatively taken as a direct outcome of an Indo-European present formation *pr̥h3-i̯e-, but the phonetic development has been questioned. Most of the numerous compound verbs formed from parāre, as apparāre "to prepare" (see apparatus), comparāre "to prepare, collect, muster," disparāre "to divide" (see disparate), praeparāre "to furnish beforehand, prepare," reparāre "to recover, restore" (see repair entry 1), sēparāre "to divide" (see separate entry 1), fail to show vowel weakening. The verbs imperāre "to levy, order, command" (see emperor) and properāre "to hasten" (perhaps of independent origin) are for uncertain reasons exceptions. The Romance development in sense from "prepare" to a more concrete "cut (the peeling from), trim"—well attested in Old French—has become virtually the only sense in English, with the broader French meaning "prepare, adorn, decorate" being only marginally attested.

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of pare was in the 14th century

Phrases Containing pare

Rhymes for pare

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Browse Nearby Words

Pardubice
pare
paregoric
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Cite this Entry

“Pare.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pare. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Kids Definition

pare

verb
ˈpa(ə)r How to pronounce pare (audio)
ˈpe(ə)r
pared; paring
1
: to trim off the outside or the ends of
2
: to reduce as if by paring
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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