1. trim (something) by cutting away its outer edges: "Carlo pared his thumbnails with his knife"Similarcut (off)trim (off)peel (off)shave (off)strip (off)clip (off)skintechnical:decorticateexcoriate
▪ cut off the outer skin of (something): "pare off the rind using a peeler"
▪ reduce (something) in size, extent, quantity, or number, usually in a number of small successive stages:"union leaders publicly pared down their demands"Similarreducediminishdecreasecutcut back/downmake cutbacks inwhittle away/downsalami-slicetrimslim downprunelowerlessenretrenchcurtail
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French parer ‘adorn, prepare’, also ‘peel, trim’, from Latin parare ‘prepare’.