are

¹ American  

[ahr, er] / ɑr, ər /

verb

1. present indicative plural and 2nd person singular of be.

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are ² American  

[air, ahr] / ɛər, ɑr /

noun

1. a measure of surface area: 1 are is equal to 1/100 (0.01) of a hectare (100 square meters or 119.6 square yards). a

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are ¹ British  

/ ɑː, ə /

verb

1. the plural form of the present tense (indicative mood) of the verb `be' and the singular form used with you

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are ² British  

/ ɑː /

noun

1.  a.  a unit of area equal to 100 sq metres or 119.599 sq yards; one hundredth of a hectare

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Etymology

Origin of are¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English aren, are, arn, Old English (Northumbrian) aron; cognate with Old Norse eru, 3rd person plural; replacing Old English bēoth, sind; cf. art ²

Origin of are²

First recorded in 1810–20; from French, from Latin ārea “vacant piece of level ground, open space in a town, threshing floor”; see area

Explanation

Are is the plural of "is" and "am," a form of the most common verb "be." He is going, but we are going. Are is also used with you, as in, "Are you going to the movies?" In English, the forms of be break down like this: "I am; you are; he is; we are; they are; you (more than one of you) are." Are, of course, is only used when you are talking about things that are happening now. When they already happened, the word is were: we are here now, but we were there yesterday. Are is also a metric measurement equal to 100 square meters, but the unit is rarely used these days.

Example Sentences

Hernandez is poised to face more backlash in the coming weeks, but Nereyda said they are ready for it.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026

"I knew when I booked my flight it was going to go down to the last game and I maintain we are going to do it."

From BBC • May 14, 2026

"There remains... a mountain to climb, such that investors are ready to accept but are not yet fully convinced of a sustained recovery," Hunter said.

From Barron's • May 14, 2026

A&E waiting times are improving, with four-hour waiting figures also the best in five years.

From BBC • May 14, 2026

“I’m Evelyn. My people are the Eastern Band of Cherokees.”

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith