yare

American  

[yair, yahr] / yɛər, yɑr /

Also yar

adjective

yarer, yarest

1. quick; agile; lively.

2. (of a ship) quick to the helm; easily handled or maneuvered.

3. Archaic.

   1. ready; prepared.

   2. nimble; quick.

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yare British  

/ jɛə /

adjective

1. archaic ready, brisk, or eager

2. (of a vessel) answering swiftly to the helm; easily handled

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adverb

1. obsolete readily or eagerly

Other Word Forms

• yarely adverb

Etymology

Origin of yare

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English gearu, gearo, equivalent to ge- archaic prefix + earu “ready”; cognate with Dutch gaar, German gar “done, dressed (as meat)”; y-

Example Sentences

She had been able to attend for only “tow yare and a half.”

From Slate • Nov. 20, 2024

But on CBS's Best of Broadway, Actress McGuire made an excellent Tracy Lord, tawny and yare, as the script said she should be.

From Time Magazine Archive

Diane, a pert, yare redhead, began to patrol the streets.

From Time Magazine Archive

Up then rose this proud sheriff, And radly made him yare; Many was the mother son, To the kirk with him can fare.

From Ballads of Robin Hood and other Outlaws Popular Ballads of the Olden Times - Fourth Series by Sidgwick, Frank

"Boatswain, down with the top-mast, yare Lower, lower; bring her to try with the main course."

From History of the Colony and Ancient Dominion of Virginia by Campbell, Charles