Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

are

/ɛəɹ/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: 6.74 in modern English

Syllables: are
IPA: /ɛəɹ/

3

Scrabble Score

3

Letters

1

Syllables

3

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

second-person singular simple present of be

verb

first-person plural simple present of be

verb

second-person plural simple present of be

verb

third-person plural simple present of be

verb

present of be

noun

An accepted (but deprecated and rarely used) metric unit of area equal to 100 square metres, or a former unit of approximately the same extent. Symbol: a.

det

Misspelling of our.

British usage; American usage

name

A village in Saaremaa, Saare County, Estonia.

Example Sentences

"Mary, where are you going?"
"We are not coming."
"Here we are!"
"Mary and John, are you listening?"
"They are here somewhere."
"BEloued, beleeue not euery ſpirit, but trie the ſpirits, whether they are of God: becauſe many falſe prophets are gone out into the woꝛld."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *arun? Old English earon Middle English aren English are From Middle English aren, from Old English (Anglian) earun, earon (“are”, plural). Possibly reinforced by the Old Norse plural forms in er-, this displaced the alternative forms Old English sind and bēoþ. In the second person singular it displaced archaic art. Further etymology controversial: * The English forms, as well as the Old Swedish forms in ær-, could reflect Proto-Germanic preterite-present *ōr ~ *arum, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃e-h₃ór-h₂e (“I have risen”, perfect). * Since they are not the expected outcomes of the Proto-Germanic forms of *wesaną (“to be”) in *iz-, they would have to be irregular alterations. For Seebold this explanation is still preferable as similar variants in other verbs are not uncommon.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: aren, earun, -, *h₃er-, are

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ɛəɹ/
British English: /ɛə/

Usage

British usage
American usage

Inflected Forms

aren (alternative, dialectal) arn (alternative, dialectal) ar (alternative, obsolete) ares (plural)

Derived Forms

centiare decare hectare milliare

Frequently Paired Words

am art be been beest being is was

Synonyms

art square decametre ar

Homonyms

argh r our air Ayr ere eyre heir

Rhymes With

far car star all-star bar guitar hr pr mar par ar bizarre

Questions

How do you pronounce are?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɛəɹ/.
What does are mean?: second-person singular simple present of be
Where does are come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce are

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “are”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɛəɹ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “are”.
Repeat and practice — Say “are” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.