rare

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈrɛər/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/rɛr/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(râr)

Inflections of 'rare' (adj):
rarer
adj comparative
rarest
adj superlative
Inflections of 'rare' (v): (⇒ conjugate)
rares
v 3rd person singular
raring
v pres p
rared
v past
rared
v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
rare1 /rɛr/USA pronunciation   adj., rar•er, rar•est. 
  1. very uncommon:a rare disease.
  2. light;
    thin;
    having the parts not tightly packed together:The air was rare in the mountains.
  3. unusually great:[before a noun]a rare display of courage.
rare•ness, n. [uncountable]

rare2 /rɛr/USA pronunciation   adj., rar•er, rar•est. 
  1. cooked so as to be still red on the inside:rare steak.
rare•ness, n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
rare1  (râr),USA pronunciation adj., rar•er, rar•est. 
  1. coming or occurring far apart in time;
    unusual;
    uncommon:a rare disease; His visits are rare occasions.
  2. thinly distributed over an area;
    few and widely separated:Lighthouses are rare on that part of the coast.
  3. having the component parts not closely compacted together;
    not dense:rare gases; lightheaded from the rare mountain air.
  4. unusually great:a rare display of courage.
  5. unusually excellent;
    admirable;
    fine:She showed rare tact in inviting them.
  • Latin rārus loose, wide apart, thin, infrequent
  • Middle English 1350–1400
rare′ness, n. 
    1. exceptional, extraordinary, singular. 2. sparse, infrequent. 5. choice, incomparable, inimitable.
    1. common. 2. frequent. 5. inferior.
rare2  (râr),USA pronunciation adj., rar•er, rar•est. 
  1. (of meat) cooked just slightly:He likes his steak rare.
  • variant of earlier rear, Middle English rere, Old English hrēr lightly boiled 1645–55
rare′ness, n. 

rare3  (râr),USA pronunciation v.i., rared, rar•ing. [Older Use.]
  1. Slang Termsrear2 (def. 6).

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
rare /rɛə/ adj
  1. not widely known; not frequently used or experienced; uncommon or unusual: a rare word
  2. not widely distributed; not generally occurring: a rare herb
  3. (of a gas, esp the atmosphere at high altitudes) having a low density; thin; rarefied
  4. uncommonly great; extreme: kind to a rare degree
  5. exhibiting uncommon excellence; superlatively good or fine: rare skill
Etymology: 14th Century: from Latin rārus sparseˈrareness n
rare /rɛə/ adj
  1. (of meat, esp beef) very lightly cooked
Etymology: Old English hrēr; perhaps related to hreaw raw
'rare' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
aberrant - acarid - accolade - albumen - alit - amative - argon - around - Aussie - autarchy - awoke - aye-aye - basset - Berkshire - bi- - bibliopole - bird - blackwater fever - bongo - bowhead - bric-a-brac - capuchin - Cheddar - chrysoberyl - clew - comestible - condor - conduit - crease - creese - crux - cyma - Danzig - denigrate - devest - dexterous - didymium - doat - dotterel - Durham - earth - eclipsis - egis - essence - ether - ferula - fictive - foursquare - frisky - fylfot
Collocations: rare [antiques, books, collectibles, baseball cards], have a rare [disorder, disease], I [like, prefer] my steak (medium) rare, more...

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