Meaning & Definition of Rare in English

1. Not widely known

• Especially valued for its uncommonness

• "A rare word"

• "Rare books"

2. Recurring only at long intervals

• "A rare appearance"

• "Total eclipses are rare events"

3. Not widely distributed

• "Rare herbs"

• "Rare patches of green in the desert"

4. Having low density

• "Rare gasses"

• "Lightheaded from the rarefied mountain air"

5. Marked by an uncommon quality

• Especially superlative or extreme of its kind

• "What is so rare as a day in june"-j.r.lowell

• "A rare skill"

• "An uncommon sense of humor"

• "She was kind to an uncommon degree"

6. (of meat) cooked a short time

• Still red inside

• "Rare roast beef"