London local language
What does “bare” mean?
A lot of, many, or very. Learn its pronunciation, local context, realistic examples, and when a more neutral phrase is safer.
Meaning and local context
bare means A lot of, many, or very. in London local language. Common in Multicultural London English and youth speech. It works as an intensifier or quantity word.
How it is used
You may hear bare people, bare traffic, or bare expensive. One example is “There were bare people outside.”, which corresponds to “There were a lot of people outside.” in plain English.
Example interpretation
A second example is “That place is bare expensive.”, where the same local sense is expressed as “That place is very expensive.”. Reading both examples together helps distinguish this regional meaning from other possible readings of the word or phrase.
Tone and register
It is highly informal and can sound forced when copied without familiarity. This caution is part of understanding “bare”: the definition tells you what it means, while the surrounding situation and tone help you judge whether using it yourself is appropriate.
- Pronunciation
- BAIR
- Register
- Informal regional speech
- Place
- London
Examples in conversation
There were bare people outside.
There were a lot of people outside.
That place is bare expensive.
That place is very expensive.