fair

adjective (RIGHT)

/feər/

/fer/

Definition

B1 treating someone in a way that is right or reasonable, or treating a group of people equally and not allowing personal opinions to influence your judgment: a fair trial Why should I have to do all the cleaning? It's not fair! It's not fair on Joe (= it is not right) to make him do all the work! It's not fair that she's allowed to go and I'm not! It's not fair to blame me for everything! She's scrupulously fair with all her employees (= she treats them all equally). She claims her article was a fair comment on (= a reasonable thing to say about) a matter of public interest. He offered to do all the cleaning if I did all the cooking, which seemed like a fair (= reasonable) deal.Justice and fairness B1 If something, such as a price or share, is fair, it is reasonable and is what you expect or deserve: I thought it was a fair price that she was offering. I'm willing to do my fair (= equal) share of the work. All the workers want is a fair wage for the work that they do.Justice and fairness › If a game or competition is fair, it is done according to the rules: It was a fair fight.Justice and fairness it's only fair › it is the right way to treat someone and what they deserve: I think it's only fair to tell you that we have had over 300 applications for this job.Justice and fairness it's fair to say › it is true to say: I think it's fair to say (that) you've done less of the work than I have.True, real, false, and unreal to be fair › considering everything that has an effect on a situation, so that a fair judgment can be made: He's done the job badly but, to be fair, I gave him very little time to do it.Justice and fairnessConnecting words which express a contrast fair enough B2 UK informal › something you say to show that you understand why someone has done or said something: "I'm just annoyed with him because he's behaved so badly." "Fair enough."Words and phrases expressing agreement and acceptance fair's fair (also fair dos) informal › something that you say when you want someone to behave reasonably or treat you the same as other people: Come on, it's my turn. Fair's fair!Justice and fairness a fair hearing › an opportunity to explain something or give your opinions, without other people trying to influence the situation: He didn't feel he got a fair hearing in court.Justice and fairness fair and square › in an honest way and without any doubt: We won the match fair and square.Honesty, openness and sincerityJustice and fairness › UK (US squarely) If you hit someone fair and square on a particular part of their body, you hit them hard, exactly on that part: He hit me fair and square on the nose.Accurate and exact

(Definition of fair adjective (RIGHT) from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

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