What does "tare" mean?
A vetch, or the seed of a vetch (genus Vicia, esp. Vicia sativa)
Tare
/tɛə/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A vetch, or the seed of a vetch (genus Vicia, esp. Vicia sativa)
- Grammar: tare is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abatement, agio, allowance, bank discount.
- Useful contrasts: add, crop, include.
- Usage evidence: The weight of a package minus its contents is the packaging weight or the tare weight.
How to use "tare"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "tare" 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 "tare" 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 "tare" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "tare" 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 "tare" is acting as noun, verb 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 "abatement" 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 "tare", 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 vetch, or the seed of a vetch (genus Vicia, esp. Vicia sativa) rare
- 2 The empty weight of a container; unladen weight. countable, uncountable
"What is the neat weight of 4 hogsheads of tobacco, each weighing 10cwt. 3qrs. 10lb. gross; — tare 100lb. per hdd.?"
- 3 Any of various dipping sauces served with Japanese food, typically based on soy sauce. uncountable
- 4 Alternative form of tara (“Indian coin”). alt-of, alternative
- 5 radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter T.
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 (chemical analysis) a counterweight used in chemical analysis; consists of an empty container that counterbalances the weight of the container holding chemicals wordnet
- 7 Any of the tufted grasses of genus Lolium; darnel.
- 8 the weight of a motor vehicle, railroad car, or aircraft without its fuel or cargo wordnet
- 9 A damaging weed growing in fields of grain. figuratively, rare
"But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way."
- 10 weedy annual grass often occurs in grainfields and other cultivated land; seeds sometimes considered poisonous wordnet
- 11 any of several weedy vetches grown for forage wordnet
- 12 an adjustment made for the weight of the packaging in order to determine the net weight of the goods wordnet
Verb
- 1 To take into account the weight of the container, wrapping etc. in weighting merchandise.
"he is […] to tare such number of bales as may be deemed necessary to settle the net weight for duty."
- 2 simple past of tear form-of, obsolete, past
- 3 To set a zero value on an instrument (usually a balance) that discounts the starting point.
"2003, Dany Spencer Adams, Lab Math, CSHL Press, p. 63, Spectrometers, for example, must be zeroed before each reading; balances must be tared before each weighing."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The weight of a package minus its contents is the packaging weight or the tare weight."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "tare"?
Common synonyms include: abatement, agio, allowance, bank discount, bearded darnel, bones.
How do you use "tare" in a sentence?
The weight of a package minus its contents is the packaging weight or the tare weight.
How do you pronounce "tare"?
Pronounced /tɛə/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English tare (“vetch”), from Old English *taru, from Proto-West Germanic *taru.
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Middle French tare, from Italian tara, from Arabic طَرْحَة (ṭarḥa, “that which is thrown away”), a derivative of طَرَحَ (ṭaraḥa, “to throw (away)”).
Etymology 3
Borrowed from Japanese 垂(た)れ (tare, “sauce, gravy”).