fair

/fɛə/

//fɛə// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"fair" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fair” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,104. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,104
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Beautiful, of a pleasing appearance, with a pure and fresh quality.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fair · fair · English

fair · rank #1,104 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,104
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH drop

Nearest frequency peer: drop (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “fair”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “fair” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

fair vs fi
50% similar
fair vs for
50% similar
fair vs far
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for fair
PropertyValue
Headwordfair
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/fɛə/
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,104
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “fair”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).fairlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “drop” (#1,103), “feet” (#1,105), “contact” (#1,102). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fair” is #1,104. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around fair (IPA /fɛə/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #1,104 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 14 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for fair, with forms such as "afir", "fairr", and "fari". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fi", "for", "far", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English fayr, feir, fager, from Old English fæġer (“beautiful”), from Proto-West Germanic *fagr, from Proto-Germanic *fagraz (“suitable, fitting, nice”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- (“to fasten, place”). Cognate with Scots fayr, fare (“fair… The correct English form is fair, spelled F-A-I-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Beautiful, of a pleasing appearance, with a pure and fresh quality.
  2. 2
    Unblemished (figuratively or literally); clean and pure; innocent.
  3. 3
    Light in color, pale, particularly with regard to skin tone but also referring to blond and red hair.
  4. 4
    Just.
  5. 5
    Adequate, reasonable, or decent, but not excellent.
  6. 6
    Favorable to a ship's course.
  7. 7
    Favorable, pleasant.
  8. 8
    Favorable, pleasant.
  9. 9
    Favorable, pleasant.
  10. 10
    Without sudden change of direction or curvature; smooth; flowing; said of the figure of a vessel, and of surfaces, water lines, and other lines.
  11. 11
    Between the baselines.
  12. 12
    Taken direct from an opponent's foot, without the ball touching the ground or another player.
  13. 13
    Not a no ball.
  14. 14
    Of a coin or die, having equal chance of landing on any side, unbiased.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how fair appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Monday's child is fair of face.
  2. There was once a knight who wooed a fair young maid.

Etymology

From Middle English fayr, feir, fager, from Old English fæġer (“beautiful”), from Proto-West Germanic *fagr, from Proto-Germanic *fagraz (“suitable, fitting, nice”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- (“to fasten, place”). Cognate with Scots fayr, fare (“fair”), Danish feir, faver, fager (“fair, pretty”), Norwegian fager (“fair, pretty”), Swedish fager (“fair, pretty”), Icelandic fagur (“beautiful, fair”), Umbrian pacer (“gracious, merciful, kind”), Slovak pekný (“good-looking, handsome, nice”). See also peace.

This word in other languages

bello(Español)beau(Français)schön(Deutsch)belo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • afir
  • fairr
  • fari
  • ffair
  • fiar

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fair - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

afir2fairr1fari2ffair1fiar2
Edit distance from "fair"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "fair"?
"fair" is spelled F-A-I-R. The IPA pronunciation is /fɛə/.
What does "fair" mean?
As an adjective, "fair" means: Beautiful, of a pleasing appearance, with a pure and fresh quality.
What words are commonly confused with "fair"?
"fair" is commonly confused with "fi", "for", "far". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fair"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fair" is /fɛə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "fair"?
From Middle English fayr, feir, fager, from Old English fæġer (“beautiful”), from Proto-West Germanic *fagr, from Proto-Germanic *fagraz (“suitable, fitting, nice”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- (“to fasten, place”). Cognate with Scots fayr, f... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "fair", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

drop#1,103feet#1,105link#1,108sale#1,110

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

tour5 variantsallow5 variantswide5 variantsfear5 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list