What does "rare" mean?
A scarce or uncommon item.
Rare
/ɹɛ/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A scarce or uncommon item.
- Grammar: rare is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: uncommon, a cut above, a small number, above.
- Useful contrasts: abundant, common, plentiful.
- Usage evidence: It is not rare at all to live over ninety years.
How to use "rare"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "rare" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "rare" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "rare" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "rare" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "rare" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "uncommon" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "rare", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A scarce or uncommon item.
"Most of the time, you do this by trading low-valued rares for more valuable ones or trading uncommons for rares. Other times it's trading cards that are in print for ones that are out of print, or low-value rares for good uncommons."
Verb
- 1 To rear, rise up, start backwards. US, intransitive
"Frank pretended to rare back as if bedazzled, shielding his eyes with a forearm."
- 2 To rear, bring up, raise. US, transitive
"Here I have to say that I was walking along dark-hearted, my nose out of joint about Audie's notice of her, for just as quickly as my feelings kindled, my old envy rared."
Adjective
- 1 Very uncommon; scarce.
"Black pearls are very rare and therefore very valuable."
- 2 Particularly of meat, especially beefsteak: cooked very lightly, so the meat is still red.
"Then Curds and Cream, the Flow'r of Country Fare, / And new-laid Eggs, which Baucis’ buſie Care / Turn’d by a gentle Fire, and roaſted rare."
- 3 Early. obsolete
"The men, that sway / In work of those tools that so fit our state, / Are rude mechanicals, that rare and late / Work in the market-place;"
- 4 Small in number (but not unusual); infrequent; sparse.
"The anterior and posterior skin of the upper chest and shoulders demonstrated irregularly jagged borders with areas of soot and charring focally. The soft and bony tissues underlying the borders were markedly damaged by presumed explosive injuries. There were rare abrasions and contusions of the chest and upper extremities. The lower extremities demonstrated rare abrasions and contusions as well as severe lacerations of the anteromedial knees with underlying fractures of the distal aspects of the femora (Image 4)."
- 5 Thin; of low density.
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- 6 Good; enjoyable. UK, slang
"Sees her reflection in a butcher shop. She finds it all quite rare That her meat's all vanity fair."
Adjective
- 1 not widely distributed wordnet
- 2 not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness wordnet
- 3 (of meat) cooked a short time; still red inside wordnet
- 4 recurring only at long intervals wordnet
- 5 marked by an uncommon quality; especially superlative or extreme of its kind wordnet
Show 1 more definition
- 6 having low density wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"It is not rare at all to live over ninety years."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "rare"?
Common synonyms include: uncommon, a cut above, a small number, above, admirable, adulterated.
How do you use "rare" in a sentence?
It is not rare at all to live over ninety years.
How do you pronounce "rare"?
Pronounced /ɹɛ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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 replaced Middle English seld (“rare, uncommon”) (from Old English selden) and Middle English seldscene (“rare, rarely seen, infrequent”) (from Old English seldsēne).
Etymology 2
From a dialectal variant of rear, from Middle English rere, from Old English hrēr, hrēre (“not thoroughly cooked, underdone, lightly boiled”), from hrēran (“to move, shake, agitate”), from Proto-Germanic *hrōzijaną (“to stir”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱroHs- (“to mix, stir, cook”). Related to Old English hrōr (“stirring, busy, active, strong, brave”). More at rear.
Etymology 3
Variant of rear.
Etymology 4
Compare rather, rath.