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fair

fair

404 1.0
A public event with rides, games, and shops
  • noun
  • /fɛr/
translation icon : feria
  • We had a great time at the local fair where there were games and rides for everyone.
  • trade fair
  • science fair
  • a state fair

We'll talk about the Chicago World's Fair later in the class.

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Examples

  • Once, Onofre had the sudden whim to visit the World's Fair, which was being praised highly by everyone.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The Comanches and the Taos trade fair dominated Indian trade in the mid-1700s.

    Academic text (1992)
  • This is an art fair in Long Island City.

  • We went to a fair, some sort of park the other day.

  • There was a travelling fair in the city.

  • See you tomorrow at the fair.

  • We'll talk about the Chicago World's Fair later in the class.

  • When you were fourteen, you read about a craft fair in the next town.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • I wonder if there's a county fair around here.

  • I was at a State Fair and they were frying Oreo cookies.

Synonyms

festival
vsfair
178 1.0

An event with many shows like music or theatre

can also include market stalls, rides, and casual amusements
craft fair
vsfair
144 3.0

An event where people sell handmade things like jewelry and pottery

is broader, adding rides, games, and general entertainment beyond sales
exhibition
vsfair
136 3.3

A public display of objects like paintings or old items in a museum

is more general, combining displays with entertainment and market stalls
carnival
vsfair
114 2.7

A traveling show with rides, games, and small side shows

is similar but also covers stationary sales and displays
fest
vsfair
  • Informal
108 3.1

A public party with music, food, and events

covers a wider public event type that adds sales and displays
expo
vsfair
54 3.2

A large public show where companies and artists display products or art

is broader, adding rides, games, and informal market activity
exposition
vsfair
16 6.1

A large public show of things like art or new products

is the general public event that also includes casual amusements and sales
bazaar
vsfair
14 4.1

An event where people sell goods to raise money for charity

is wider, including entertainment, rides, and noncharity commerce
book fair
vsfair
6 1.2

An event where books are shown and sold to encourage reading

is the broader public event type that also offers rides and games
fete
vsfair
2 6.5

A public event with music, games, and food to raise money

is broader, also including commercial stalls, rides, and exhibitions
funfair
vsfair
  • UK
1 2.5

A temporary event with rides and games for people to enjoy

includes those attractions but also adds sales and exhibitions
annual fair
vsfair
1 2.3

A yearly event with rides, food, and games

is any public event with such features, not only annual ones
bookfair
vsfair
1 2.7

An event where people show and sell books

is more general, including varied entertainments and nonbook exhibitions

Idioms

fair and square
  • Informal
34 3.3

In a just and honest way that follows the rules

1 6.9

Medium quality, neither very good nor very bad

the fair sex
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Women that older writers treat as delicate and needing protection

stern but fair
  • Informal
1 4.6

Strict and just when dealing with people

A fair chance to take part or succeed

An even chance for everyone to take part

9.9

An equal chance to take part or benefit

To ask for everyone to have an equal chance

An equal chance to be treated the same as others

Demanding that people follow rules while treating everyone the same

Compounds

144 3.0

An event where people sell handmade things like jewelry and pottery

39 5.2

An easy target for people to criticize or attack

Vanity Fair
  • Literature
31 2.8

A magazine about celebrity news, fashion, and current events

16 3.0

Honest behavior that treats everyone the same and follows the rules in sport or competition

fair shake
  • Informal
16 6.0

An equal chance to succeed and be treated the same as others

fair hearing
  • Formal
12 5.3

A chance to tell your side to a court or official before a decision

12 2.4

A good but not certain chance of success

fair use
  • Specialized
12 3.9

The right to use small parts of someone else's work without permission for teaching, news, or criticism

11 3.2

A way of buying and selling that gives better pay and rights to farmers and workers

10 2.8

Treatment that is just and equal for everyone

6 1.2

An event where books are shown and sold to encourage reading

2 5.6

A person who helps only when things are good and leaves during problems

1 1.3

Nice dry conditions good for outdoor activities

A person other people like more and treat better

fair ball
  • Specialized
1 3.9

A ball hit by the batter that lands between the foul lines and is in play

fair catch
  • Specialized
1 7.0

A player signals and catches a punt without running and cannot be tackled

Light skin that often burns easily in the sun

fair sex
  • Archaic
1 9.9

An old polite phrase for women that shows admiration

fair-weather fan
  • Informal
1 7.4

A person who supports a team only when it is winning

1 2.3

A yearly event with rides, food, and games

A situation where everyone has an equal chance and no one has unfair advantages

fair copy
  • Specialized
6.2

A clean final version of a document with all corrections

fair do
  • UK
9.9

It is right to give someone credit for what they did

5.2

Part of a baseball field between the first and third base lines where a hit ball is in play

A small European plant with a circle of low leaves and clusters of white star-shaped flowers

7.8

Former US law that let manufacturers require shops to sell goods at a minimum price

fair-trade agreement
  • Specialized
5.7

A deal where a maker tells stores not to sell a branded product below a fixed price

vanity fair
  • Literature
9.9

A social world where people focus on appearance and money

How Big

annual fair
1 2.3
fair
404 1.0
craft fair
144 3.0

Surface Forms

fair singular
fairs plural

Etymology

Fair for a market comes from the Latin word feria meaning 'holiday', because markets began on festival days when people gathered to buy, sell, and enjoy entertainment.