fair
fair [fair fairs fairer fairest] adjective, adverb, noun BrE [feə(r)] NAmE [fer]
adjective (fair·er, fair·est)
ACCEPTABLE/APPROPRIATE
1. acceptable and appropriate in a particular situation
•a fair deal/wage/price/question
• The punishment was very fair.
• In the end, a draw was a fair result.
•I give you fair warning, I'm not always this generous.
•~ to sb (to do sth) Was it really fair to him to ask him to do all the work?
•~ on sb (to do sth) It's not fair on the students to keep changing the timetable.
•~ to do sth It's only fair to add that they were not told about the problem until the last minute.
•I think it is fair to say that they are pleased with this latest offer.
•~ that… It seems only fair that they should give us something in return.
•To be fair, she behaved better than we expected.
• (especially BrE)‘You should really have asked me first.’ ‘Right, okay, fair comment.’
Opp: ↑unfair
TREATING PEOPLE EQUALLY
2. treating everyone equally and according to the rules or law
• She has always been scrupulously fair.
•demands for a fairer distribution of wealth
•~ (to sb) We have to be fair to both players.
•to receive a fair trial
•free and fair elections
•It's not fair! He always gets more than me.
•The new tax is fairer than the old system.
•They are fair and decent employers.
•his vision of a fairer, kinder society
Opp: ↑unfair
QUITE LARGE
3. only before noun quite large in number, size or amount
• A fair number of people came a long.
•a fair-sized town
• We've still got a fair bit (= quite a lot) to do.
•My birthday's still a fair way off (= it's still a long time until my birthday).
QUITE GOOD
4. (especially BrE)quite good
• There's a fair chance that we might win this time.
• It's a fair bet that they won't turn up.
•I have a fair idea of what happened.
•His knowledge of French is only fair.
HAIR/SKIN
5. pale in colour
•a fair complexion
• She has long fair hair.
• All her children are fair (= they all have fair hair).
Opp: ↑dark
WEATHER
6. bright and not raining
Syn: ↑fine
•a fair and breezy day
• The day was set fair with the spring sun shining down.
7. (literary) (of winds)not too strong and blowing in the right direction
• They set sail with the first fair wind.
BEAUTIFUL
8. (literary or old use)beautiful
•a fair maiden
Word Origin:
adj. and adv. Old English fæger ‘pleasing, attractive’ Germanic Old High German fagar n. Middle English ‘periodic gathering for the sale of goods’ Old French feire late Latin feria Latin feriae ‘holy days’
Thesaurus:
fair adj.
•We want a fair wage.
reasonable • • equal • • even-handed • • just • |formal equitable •
Opp: unfair
be fair/reasonable/just/equitable that…
a/an fair/reasonable/equal/just/equitable division/distribution/share of sth
be fair/reasonable/just law/punishment/sentence/judgement/person/man/woman
Example Bank:
•I don't care what he thinks. It seems perfectly fair to me.
•I'll give you ten pounds each to make it fair.
•It's hardly fair that I should be working while everyone else is enjoying themselves!
•It's important to be scrupulously fair when grading the final exam paper.
•That doesn't seem quite fair.
•That seems fair to all sides.
•To be fair, we hadn't really spent enough time on the job.
•‘You really should have asked me first.’ ‘OK. Fair comment.’
•All we're asking for is a fair wage.
•Everyone has the right to a fair trial.
•For the first time, free and fair elections will be held.
•I don't think the sentence was very fair.
•I give you fair warning, I'm not always this generous.
•It was a fair and breezy day.
•It wasn't really fair to ask him to do all the work.
•It's a fair question, and it deserves to be taken seriously.
•It's fair to say that they are pleased with the latest offer.
•It's not fair on the students…
•It's not fair to the students to keep changing the schedule.
•It's not fair! He always gets more than me!
•It's only fair to say that this is the first time she's heard about the problem.
•It's quite expensive, but I still think it's a fair price.
•Scoring twenty points was a fair achievement.
•The day was set fair with the spring sun shining down.
•The new tax is fairer than the old one.
•They are demanding a fairer distribution of the earth's resources.
•To be fair, she behaved better than we expected.
Idioms: ↑all's fair in love and war ▪ ↑by fair means or foul ▪ ↑fair and square ▪ ↑fair crack of the whip ▪ ↑fair enough ▪ fair hearing ▪ fair shake ▪ ↑fair to middling ▪ ↑fair! ▪ ↑fair's fair ▪ ↑fairly and squarely ▪ ↑it's a fair cop ▪ ↑set fair ▪ ↑your fair share of something
adverb
according to the rules; in a way that is considered to be acceptable and appropriate
•Come on, you two, fight fair!
•They'll respect you as long as you play fair (= behave honestly).
more at you can't say (any) fairer (than that) at ↑say v.
Word Origin:
adj. and adv. Old English fæger ‘pleasing, attractive’ Germanic Old High German fagar n. Middle English ‘periodic gathering for the sale of goods’ Old French feire late Latin feria Latin feriae ‘holy days’
noun
ENTERTAINMENT
1. (BrE also fun·fair) (NAmE also car·ni·val)a type of entertainment in a field or park at which people can ride on large machines and play games to win prizes
•Let's take the kids to the fair.
•all the fun of the fair
2. (NAmE)a type of entertainment in a field or park at which farm animals and products are shown and take part in competitions
•the county/state fair
3. (BrE) = ↑fête
BUSINESS
4. an event at which people, businesses, etc. show and sell their goods
•a world trade fair
•a craft/a book/an antique fair
ANIMAL MARKET
5. (BrE)(in the past) a market at which animals were sold
•a horse fair
JOBS
6. job/careers ~ an event at which people who are looking for jobs can get information about companies who might employ them
Word Origin:
adj. and adv. Old English fæger ‘pleasing, attractive’ Germanic Old High German fagar n. Middle English ‘periodic gathering for the sale of goods’ Old French feire late Latin feria Latin feriae ‘holy days’
Culture:
fairs
Some British fairs, such as St Giles Fair in ↑Oxford and the Goose Fair in ↑Nottingham, date back hundreds of years. They are travelling fairs that occupy part of a town centre for a few days each year. The people who run the fairs usually live in caravans. Originally, animals were sold at these fairs and people could change employers there. The Appleby Horse Fair in ↑Cumbria still has animals, but most fairs now consist only of fairground rides and amusements such as rifle ranges where people shoot to win prizes. They are especially popular with children and young people and some holiday towns, for example Blackpool, have permanent fairgrounds. In modern times a number of theme parks, such as ↑Alton Towers, have also been developed, in which the rides are based on particular ideas or themes.
Some fairs in the US also have long histories. State and county fairs held at the end of summer were important in the days when transport was limited and most Americans were farmers living far from the nearest town. They provided an opportunity to see friends, buy supplies and look at the latest farm equipment. People entered their best animals in competitions and afterwards sold them. Today there are also competitions for crops, e.g. the sweetest corn, and for home crafts like baking and sewing. The winner of the first prize gets a blue ribbon. In Britain, competitions like these take place at village horticultural shows and agricultural shows, such as the ↑Royal Show. Many Americans who are not farmers go to fairs for other kinds of entertainment. There is a midway, a large area with different kinds of rides and games, and an area where ice cream, pies and candy (BrE sweets) are sold. The US also has permanent amusement parks or theme parks, which have rides like those at British fairs.
Fairs and amusement parks in Britain and the US typically include rides such as merry-go-rounds or carousels, shooting galleries, where people can win small prizes by shooting at targets, and stalls selling traditional food such as candy floss (AmE cotton candy; pink spun sugar on a stick), toffee apples (AmE candy apples; apples coated in a boiled sugar mixture) and hot dogs (= sausages in bread rolls). Many have a Ferris wheel, also called a big wheel, bumper cars (BrE also dodgems; small cars in which people crash into each other), a helter-skelter (= a tall, circular slide), and a roller coaster or big dipper (= a steep track on which people ride in special cars). There is often a ‘dark ride’ or ghost train (= a ride in the dark past things that jump out or make a frightening noise).
In Britain and the US other events are sometimes called fairs. At craft fairs (AmE arts and crafts fairs) people sell things they have made, e.g. pottery, jewellery, candles and leather goods. But trade fairs are large events where business companies show their products and make new contacts.
Example Bank:
•I bought it at a local craft fair.
•She is organizing next year's book fair.
•The city is holding its annual trade fair in May this year.
•We all went south for the state fair.
See also: ↑carnival ▪ ↑fair dos ▪ ↑funfair
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