# fair

Pronunciation: say "FAIR" US /fɛɚ/, UK /fɛə/

## Adjective

1. Treating people in a way that is just and equitable.
   - Simple: Treating everyone in an equal and right way.
   - _A fair trial requires an impartial judge and equal access to the evidence._
   - _Workers demanded fairer wages after years of stagnant pay._
3. Sizable but not huge, whether in amount, number, size, or distance.
   - Simple: Quite big in amount, number, size, or distance, but not huge.
   - _A fair number of fans showed up despite the rain._
   - _We still have a fair distance to drive before we reach the coast._
4. Passable or reasonably good, though falling short of excellent.
   - Simple: Good enough, but not great.
   - _The food was fair at best, but the view made up for it._
   - _Her chances of winning are only fair given the strong competition._
6. Light in color or pale, especially of skin, or of hair that is blond or light.
   - Simple: Light in color, especially pale skin or blond hair.
   - _His fair complexion meant he reached for sunscreen at the first sign of summer._
   - _Many people in the region have fair hair and light eyes._
7. Of the weather, fine and dry, with little or no cloud.
   - Simple: Of weather, dry and pleasant, with few or no clouds.
   - _The forecast promised fair skies for the entire weekend._
   - _The morning dawned fair and still, without a cloud over the bay._
11. In baseball, on or between the foul lines that run from home plate past first and third base to the outfield fence.
   - Simple: In baseball, inside or on the lines that mark the playing field.
   - _The umpire signaled the ball fair as it bounced inside the first-base line._
   - _A fair ball that rolls past the infielders can become a double._
12. Of a coin or die, unbiased, so that every side is equally likely to land face up.
   - Simple: Of a coin or dice, having an equal chance to land on each side.
   - _A fair coin has a 50 percent probability of landing heads on each toss._
   - _Before the game, she rolled the die a hundred times to check whether it was fair._
9. Possessing a pure, fresh beauty that is pleasing to the eye. *(literary)*
   - Simple: Beautiful and lovely to look at, in a clean and fresh way.
   - _The poet praised his fair lady in every verse he wrote._
   - _Never had the knight beheld a face so fair as the young queen's._
13. Favorable and pleasant; working in one's favor rather than against it.
   - Simple: Pleasant and likely to help you, not against you.
   - _He won the villagers over with fair words and an open manner._
   - _Conditions looked fair for the expedition's final push to the summit._
14. Clean and pure; unblemished, whether literally or figuratively; innocent.
   - Simple: Clean, pure, and without any mark or fault.
   - _No breath of scandal had ever touched her fair name._
   - _She wrote out a fair copy of the letter, without a single blot._
16. Of a catch, made cleanly from an opponent's kick, now chiefly in American football after the catcher signals. In rugby union it is called a mark.
   - Simple: Of a catch, made cleanly from a kick, mostly in American football after the player signals. Rugby now calls this a mark.
   - _He signaled for a fair catch the instant the ball left the kicker's boot._
   - _Because the punt returner waved for a fair catch, the defender who hit him drew a penalty._
19. Of a delivery in cricket, bowled legally, so that it is neither a no-ball nor a wide and counts toward the over.
   - Simple: In cricket, describing a ball that is bowled correctly, not a no-ball or a wide.
   - _The replay showed part of his front foot behind the line, so the delivery was fair._
   - _Each fair ball counts toward the six deliveries of the over._
20. Of the wind, tide, or weather, favorable to the course a ship is sailing.
   - Simple: Of wind or weather, helpful to a ship sailing toward where it needs to go.
   - _With a fair wind, the schooner made the crossing in record time._
   - _We left the marina at dawn, hoping a fair tide would carry us through the narrow channel._
21. Of a road, passage, or the like, free from obstacles; unobstructed, open, and direct.
   - Simple: Of a road or path, open and clear, with nothing blocking the way.

## Noun

2. A public event, often held yearly, where goods are sold and farm animals, produce and crafts are shown and judged, usually with entertainment.
   - Simple: A big public event, often once a year, where people sell things, show animals and crafts, and have fun.
   - _Her quilt took first prize at the county fair._
   - _Every August the state fair fills the grounds with cattle shows, food stands and live music._
5. A trade fair; a gathering at which people in an industry see new products and strike deals with one another.
   - Simple: A big event where companies show their new products to buyers and sellers.
   - _The technology fair gave startups a chance to demonstrate their products to investors._
   - _Publishers gathered at the international book fair to sell foreign rights._
10. A traveling amusement park, known in Britain as a funfair and in the US as a carnival.
   - Simple: A traveling set of rides and games that moves from town to town.
   - _Every summer the fair sets up on the empty lot with rides, games, and cotton candy._
   - _The children begged to go on the spinning teacups when the fair arrived._
17. A thing or person regarded as fair in any of its senses, whether just, beautiful, or pleasing.
   - Simple: A thing or person that is fair in some way, such as being just or beautiful.
26. A gathering built around one subject, such as science, careers, or health, where people exhibit their projects or organizations hand out information and seek recruits.
   - Simple: An event on one topic, like science or jobs, where people show projects, share information, or sign people up.
   - _More than forty employers set up booths at the campus career fair to collect résumés from graduating seniors._
   - _The students spent weeks on their experiments, and the top three from the regional fair advanced to the state competition._

## Adverb

8. In a manner that is clear, open, frank, honest, and agreeable.
   - Simple: In a clear, open, and honest way.
   - _She won the election fair and square, and even her rivals admitted it._
   - _He always plays fair, never bending the rules to his own advantage._
18. Almost completely; to a great extent, though not meant literally. *(dialectal)*
   - Simple: Very nearly or very much, said to stress a point rather than meant exactly.
   - _He was fair beside himself with worry by the time they arrived._
   - _The wind in Galway was so strong it fair knocked me off my feet._

## Verb

15. Of the weather, to become favorable: clear and no longer stormy.
   - Simple: Of weather, to become clear and calm.
   - _The captain hoped the weather would fair before they reached open water._
   - _Toward evening the sky faired and the stars came out._
23. To smooth or shape a surface, or the joins between parts, so that it has an even, flowing outline, especially to reduce air or water resistance.
   - Simple: To make the surface or shape of something smooth and even, often so air or water flows past easily.
   - _The boatbuilder faired the hull so no ridges interrupted its surface._
   - _Welders fair the joints between plates before painting the structure._

## Noun

22. A woman, especially a beautiful one or the woman one loves; also, women in general. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: An old word for a woman, especially a beautiful woman or the woman someone loves.
25. Beauty; loveliness of appearance; the quality of being fair to look upon. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Beauty, or the quality of being lovely to look at.

## Verb

24. To make something beautiful; to give a fair or pleasing appearance to. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To make something beautiful or lovely to look at.

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Of a vessel's figure, surfaces, or water lines, smooth and flowing, without any sudden change of direction or curvature.
- (verb) To make an animation smooth, removing any jerkiness from the motion.
- (verb) To align parts exactly, especially to make the rivet holes of structural members line up when joining them.
- (noun) Good luck or a fortunate outcome.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3–4, 6–9, 11–25** — From Middle English fayr, from Old English fæġer ("beautiful"), going back to Proto-Germanic *fagraz ("suitable, fitting, nice") and ultimately a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to fasten, place." It is related to words in Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, and Icelandic meaning "fair" or "pretty."
**Meanings 2, 5, 10, 26** — Latin fēriae developed into Old French foire, which became feyre in Middle English.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/fair (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).