an exhibition, usually competitive, of farm products, livestock, etc., often combined in the U.S. with entertainment and held annually by a county or state.
2.
a periodic gathering of buyers and sellers in an appointed place.
3.
an exposition in which different exhibitors participate, sometimes with the purpose of buying or selling: a science fair.
4.
an exhibition and sale of articles to raise money, often for some charitable purpose.
[Origin: 1300–50; ME feire < AF, OF < LL féria religious festival, holiday (ML: market), in L only pl.; akin to feast]
free from bias, dishonesty, or injustice: a fair decision; a fair judge.
2.
legitimately sought, pursued, done, given, etc.; proper under the rules: a fair fight.
3.
moderately large; ample: a fair income.
4.
neither excellent nor poor; moderately or tolerably good: fair health.
5.
marked by favoring conditions; likely; promising: in a fair way to succeed.
6.
Meteorology.
a.
(of the sky) bright; sunny; cloudless to half-cloudy.
b.
(of the weather) fine; with no prospect of rain, snow, or hail; not stormy.
7.
Nautical. (of a wind or tide) tending to aid the progress of a vessel.
8.
unobstructed; not blocked up: The way was fair for our advance.
9.
without irregularity or unevenness: a fair surface.
10.
free from blemish, imperfection, or anything that impairs the appearance, quality, or character: Her fair reputation was ruined by gossip.
11.
easy to read; clear: fair handwriting.
12.
of a light hue; not dark: fair skin.
13.
pleasing in appearance; attractive: a fair young maiden.
14.
seemingly good or sincere but not really so: The suitor beguiled his mistress with fair speeches.
15.
courteous; civil: fair words.
16.
Medicine/Medical. (of a patient's condition) having stable and normal vital signs and other favorable indicators, as appetite and mobility, but being in some discomfort and having the possibility of a worsening state.
17.
Dialect. scarcely; barely: It was just fair daylight when we started working.
–adverb
18.
in a fair manner: He doesn't play fair.
19.
straight; directly, as in aiming or hitting: He threw the ball fair to the goal.
20.
favorably; auspiciously.
21.
British,Australian. entirely; completely; quite: It happened so quickly that it fair took my breath away.
–noun
22.
Archaic. something that is fair.
23.
Archaic.
a.
a woman.
b.
a beloved woman.
–verb (used with object)
24.
to make the connection or junction of (surfaces) smooth and even.
25.
Shipbuilding.
a.
to draw and adjust (the lines of a hull being designed) to produce regular surfaces of the correct form.
b.
to adjust the form of (a frame or templet) in accordance with a design, or cause it to conform to the general form of a hull.
c.
to restore (a bent plate or structural member) to its original form.
d.
to align (the frames of a vessel under construction) in proper position.
26.
to bring (rivet holes in connecting structural members) into perfect alignment.
27.
Obsolete. to make fair.
—Verb phrase
28.
fair off or up, South Midland and Southern U.S.(of the weather) to clear: It's supposed to fair off toward evening.
—Idioms
29.
bid fair, to seem likely: This entry bids fair to win first prize.
30.
fair and square,
a.
honestly; justly; straightforwardly: He won the race fair and square.
b.
honest; just; straightforward: He was admired for being fair and square in all his dealings.
31.
fair to middling, Informal. only tolerably good; so-so.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME; OE fæger; c. OS, OHG fagar, ON fagr, Goth fagrs]
—Related forms
fairness, noun
—Synonyms 1.Fair,impartial,disinterested,unprejudiced refer to lack of bias in opinions, judgments, etc. Fair implies the treating of all sides alike, justly and equitably: a fair compromise. Impartial, like fair, implies showing no more favor to one side than another, but suggests particularly a judicial consideration of a case: an impartial judge. Disinterested implies a fairness arising particularly from lack of desire to obtain a selfish advantage: The motives of her guardian were entirely disinterested. Unprejudiced means not influenced or swayed by bias, or by prejudice caused by irrelevant considerations: an unprejudiced decision. 4. passable, tolerable, average, middling. 8. open, clear, unencumbered. 10. clean, spotless, pure, untarnished, unsullied, unstained. 11. legible, distinct. 12. blond, pale. 13. pretty, comely, lovely. 15. polite, gracious.
fair, market exhibition at which producers, traders, and consumers meet either to barter or to buy and sell goods and services. Before the development of transportation and marketing, fairs furnished the primary opportunity for the exchange of merchandise, and served as centers of community social life. Among the ancient Greeks and Romans the days of the public market were also used to announce new public laws. In early Christian times special occasions for marketing were frequently attached to religious gatherings, notably those of pilgrims coming to a town to celebrate a special feast. In the Middle Ages fairs were the major means of exchanging commodities not produced for subsistence. Fairs were incorporated by royal charter and had their own officials, laws, and courts. Major trade routes affected the growth of individual fairs; among the most prominent were those of Geneva, Antwerp, Leipzig, Madrid, Burgundy, Lyons, Bordeaux, Novgorod, and Sturbridge and Bartholomew Fair in England. Of the variety of goods traded at such fairs, cloth was probably the most important. The volume of trade was so great that by the 15th cent. some fair towns became banking centers and were subjected to special regulations. With the breaking of the manorial system, commerce became an expanding and regular part of economic life. Trade fairs declined and to a large extent were replaced by outdoor and indoor general markets. In the 17th cent. pleasure fairs, dominated by entertainments such as plays, became popular. The exposition, combining entertainment and commerce, flourishes today. A variety of advanced industrial wares (such as computers) are exhibited, and important technological innovations are displayed. International trade fairs, devoted solely to commercial display and directed toward businessmen, have also become popular since World War II. Agricultural fairs—held to improve farming methods, stocks, and crops—have been particularly important in the history of the United States. Many states and counties still maintain annual fairs, though some have been discontinued. In recent years, specialized fairs, such as the Frankfurt Book Fair, have taken on international significance.
See H. Augur, The Book of Fairs (1939); W. Addison, English Fairs and Markets (1953); C. Walford, Fairs Past and Present (1967); R. Weiss, Fairs, Pavilions, Exhibits and their Audiences (1982).
![[P]](http://cache.lexico.com/g/r/premium_mh.gif){kind=small}
Audio Help [fair] Pronunciation Key 