- fair
- [[t]fe͟ə(r)[/t]]
♦♦fairer, fairest, fairs1) ADJ-GRADED: oft it v-link ADJ to-inf Something or someone that is fair is reasonable, right, and just.
It didn't seem fair to leave out her father...
Do you feel they're paying their fair share?...
Independent observers say the campaign's been very much fairer than expected...
I wanted them to get a fair deal...
An appeals court had ruled that they could not get a fair trial in Los Angeles.
Derived words:fairly ADV-GRADED usu ADV after v, also ADV -ed...demonstrating concern for employees and solving their problems quickly and fairly...
In a society where water was precious, it had to be shared fairly between individuals.
2) ADJ: ADJ n A fair amount, degree, size, or distance is quite a large amount, degree, size, or distance.My neighbours across the street travel a fair amount...
My mother's brother lives a fair distance away so we don't see him and his family very often.
3) ADJ: ADJ n A fair guess or idea about something is one that is likely to be correct.It's a fair guess to say that the damage will be extensive...
I have a fair idea of how difficult things can be.
Syn:4) ADJ If you describe someone or something as fair, you mean that they are average in standard or quality, neither very good nor very bad.Reimar had a fair command of English.
Syn:5) ADJ-GRADED Someone who is fair, or who has fair hair, has light-coloured hair.Both children were very like Robina, but were much fairer than she was.
COMB in ADJ-GRADEDFair is also a combining form....a tall, fair-haired Englishman.
6) ADJ-GRADED Fair skin is very pale and usually burns easily.It's important to protect my fair skin from the sun.
COMB in ADJ-GRADEDFair is also a combining form.Fair-skinned people who spend a great deal of time in the sun have the greatest risk of skin cancer.
7) ADJ-GRADED When the weather is fair, it is quite sunny and not raining. [FORMAL]Weather conditions were fair.
Syn:8) N-COUNT: usu n N A county, state, or country fair is an event where there are, for example, displays of goods and animals, and amusements, games, and competitions.9) N-COUNT A fair is the same as a funfair. [BRIT](in AM, use carnival)10) N-COUNT: oft n N A fair is an event at which people display and sell goods, especially goods of a particular type.→ See also , trade fair...an antiques fair.
11) PHRASE: PHR with cl You use fair in expressions such as to be fair and let's be fair when you want to add a favourable comment about someone or something that you have just mentioned and to correct a false impression that you might have given.To be fair, the team is young and not yet settled...
And, let us be fair, some MPs do work hard.
Syn:in all fairness12) PHRASE: PHR with cl You use fair enough when you want to say that a statement, decision, or action seems reasonable to a certain extent, but that perhaps there is more to be said or done. [mainly SPOKEN]If you don't like it, fair enough, but that's hardly a justification to attack the whole thing...
Fair enough, you didn't have a perfectly happy childhood: but your childhood is over now.
13) CONVENTION You say fair enough to acknowledge what someone has just said and to indicate that you understand it. [SPOKEN]`I'm taking it to our local police station.' - `Oh right, fair enough.'...
`The message was addressed to me and I don't see why I should show it to you.' - `Fair enough.'
Syn:14) PHRASE: V inflects If you say that someone plays fair, you mean that they behave or act in a reasonable and honest way.The government is not playing fair, one union official told me.
15) PHRASE: PHR that You use fair in expressions such as It would be fair to say in order to introduce a statement which you believe to be true and reasonable.It would be fair to say he had one or two unhappy moments out there...
I think it's fair to say that it didn't sound quite right.
16) PHRASE: PHR after v If you say that someone won a competition fair and square, you mean that they won honestly and without cheating.There are no excuses. We were beaten fair and square.
English dictionary. 2008.
