pairing

Pluralpairings

1. 1
   nouncountable

   The combining or joining of two things into a single matching set.

   Like fitting a key to its lock: two parts that belong together.

   The sommelier suggested a pairing of red wine with the roasted lamb.

   The pairing of these two actors gave the film its quiet charm.

   Similarcombination, match, partnership, coupling

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of pair.

   The app keeps pairing my phone with the wrong speaker.

   She spent the morning pairing reports with their matching invoices.

   Note

   Behind the -ing form stands a verb that works both ways. It is transitive when someone groups things or animals in twos (pairing socks, pairing dogs for breeding) and intransitive when animals come together to mate or one thing suits another as its counterpart. It also covers linking a phone to a speaker over Bluetooth, and a slang political use that is the verb behind the legislative agreement.

3. 3
   nouncountable

   An arrangement between two members of a legislative body with opposing views to both abstain from voting, allowing each to be absent.

   Like two opposing chess players each agreeing to remove a pawn, leaving the position unchanged.

   Whip offices arranged a pairing so the ailing member could miss the division without affecting the result.

   The pairing collapsed when one representative quietly returned to cast a vote.

   Note

   Legislative arithmetic lies behind this sense: one vote for and one against cancel out, so two members who would have voted opposite ways can both stay away and leave the margin untouched. The word is countable for a single arrangement (a pairing for tomorrow's vote) and uncountable for the practice itself (the conventions of pairing), and it belongs to the working vocabulary of government and politics.

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