Bare vs Bear

When to Use Bare vs. Bear

In bear vs bare, the word “bare” is an adjective meaning uncovered (as in bare feet).

In bear vs bare, he word “bear” can be a noun meaning the mammal or stuffed animal (as in a teddy bear) or it can be a verb meaning to endure (as in I can’t bear this.) or to carry (as in a stranger bearing gifts).

Examples of Bare vs. Bear

• The sun felt very hot on John’s bare arms. (meaning uncovered)
• She alone would have to bear the brunt of the family’s bills. (meaning carry)
• The bear used its powerful claws to kill its prey. (meaning the mammal)
• Unfortunately, the lawyer couldn’t bear the thought of another trial. (meaning endure)

How to Remember the Difference between bare vs bear

If remembering bare vs bear is still tricky, you can replace the word with “naked” and the sentence still makes sense, then the correct choice between bare vs bear will be “bare”(You can remember this because “naked” and “bare” are both spelled with one “a” in the middle.)
Carolyn had to bear the knowledge that she had hurt someone while texting and driving. Check out the example below for seeing how the “Naked” method works in a bare vs bear decision.
Carolyn had to [NAKED] the knowledge that she had hurt someone while texting and driving. (Doesn’t make sense, so the correct version is “bear.”)

Theory Into Practice: Bare vs Bear, Which Is Which?

Is the underlined bare vs bear word correct? See if you can tell.

1. She couldn’t bare the cold any longer and went inside the cabin.
   Wrong: The word means “endure,” so it should be “bear.”
2. Her bare head had just gotten too cold.
   Right: The word can successfully be replaced with “naked,” so “bare” is correct.