PARE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does pare mean? 

• PARE (verb)
  The verb PARE has 4 senses:

1. decrease gradually or bit by bit

2. cut small bits or pare shavings from

3. strip the skin off

4. remove the edges from and cut down to the desired size

  Familiarity information: PARE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PARE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they pare    ... he / she / it pares   
Past simple: pared   
Past participle: pared   
-ing form: paring   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Decrease gradually or bit by bit

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

pare; pare down

Hypernyms (to "pare" is one way to...):

decrease; lessen; minify (make smaller)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Cut small bits or pare shavings from

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

pare; whittle

Context example:

whittle a piece of wood

Hypernyms (to "pare" is one way to...):

cut (separate with or as if with an instrument)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

paring (a thin fragment or slice (especially of wood) that has been shaved from something)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Strip the skin off

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

pare; peel; skin

Context example:

pare apples

Hypernyms (to "pare" is one way to...):

strip (remove the surface from)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pare"):

peel off (peel off the outer layer of something)

flay (strip the skin off)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

The chefs pare the vegetables

Derivation:

parer (a small sharp knife used in paring fruits or vegetables)

paring ((usually plural) a part of a fruit or vegetable that is pared or cut off; especially the skin or peel)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Remove the edges from and cut down to the desired size

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

pare; trim

Context example:

trim lumber

Hypernyms (to "pare" is one way to...):

cut (separate with or as if with an instrument)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pare"):

dress (cut down rough-hewn (lumber) to standard thickness and width)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

parer (a manicurist who trims the fingernails)

 Context examples 

There was the comb I had contrived out of the stumps of the king’s beard, and another of the same materials, but fixed into a paring of her majesty’s thumb-nail, which served for the back.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)