bare (UK)

In UK slang, “bare” means a lot of, or very. “Bare people” means loads of people, and “bare jokes” means really funny. It is one of the most common words in London youth slang.

What does bare mean?

Bare works in two main ways. Before a noun, it means “lots of”: bare money, bare traffic, bare homework. Before an adjective, it means “very”: bare cold, bare late, bare funny. It has nothing to do with the standard English meaning of “naked” or “empty,” which confuses a lot of learners.

A common phrase is “bare long,” which means something is tedious, annoying or a hassle: “queuing for an hour is bare long.”

How to use it

• “There were bare people at the party.”
• “That film was bare jokes.”
• “I’ve got bare work to do this weekend.”
• “Getting two buses there is bare long, let’s just get a cab.”

Where it comes from

This use of “bare” spread through London slang and Multicultural London English, and is now understood across much of the UK. Its exact origin is unclear. It is mostly used by younger speakers, so it can sound out of place in formal situations.

Related terms

• peak: in UK slang, unlucky or bad
• innit: “isn’t it”
• gassed: really excited
• peng: attractive or really good
• knackered: exhausted

See more terms like this in our British slang dictionary.