Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

rare

/ɹɛɚ/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.77 in modern English

Syllables
rare
IPA
/ɹɛɚ/
4
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Very uncommon; scarce.

adj

Small in number (but not unusual); infrequent; sparse.

adj

Thin; of low density.

adj

Good; enjoyable.

British usage; Slang

adj

Cool; excellent.

American usage; Slang

noun

A scarce or uncommon item.

verb

To rear, rise up, start backwards.

American usage; Intransitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English rare, from Old French rare, rere (“rare, uncommon”), from Latin rārus (“loose, spaced apart, thin, infrequent”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁- (“friable, thin”). Displaced native English geason (“rare, scarce”) (from Middle English gesen, from Old English gǣsne); and largely displaced Middle English seld (“rare, uncommon”) (from Old English selden) and Middle English seldscene (“rare, rarely seen, infrequent”) (from Old English seldsēne) hence modern English seld

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: rare, rārus, *h₁reh₁-, rere, hrēr, *hrōzijaną

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ɹɛɚ/
  • British English: /ɹɛə/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

rarity rarefy rareness For the adverb (e.g. rarely) see Thesaurus:occasionally frequency

Synonyms

Homonyms

Antonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce rare?
The recorded pronunciation is /ɹɛɚ/.
What does rare mean?
Very uncommon; scarce.
Where does rare come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce rare

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