pair
[per]
- Pair means two similar things, often used together, or two persons or animals.
- An example of a pair is two sneakers, one for the left foot and one for the right foot.
- An example of a pair is two people who are going to get married.
- Pair is defined as to match up or provide with a partner.
An example of pair is to divide students into groups of two.
A pair of shoes.
pair
noun
pl. pairs or pair- two similar or corresponding things joined, associated, or used together: a pair of gloves
- a single thing made up of two corresponding parts that are used together: a pair of pants
- two persons or animals; specif.,
- a married, engaged, or courting couple
- two mated animals
- any two people considered as having something in common: a pair of thieves
- a brace; span: a pair of oxen
- two legislators on opposing sides of some question who agree to withhold their vote so as to offset each other; also, such an agreement
- two playing cards of the same denomination
- Chiefly Dial. a set or series: a pair of stairs, a pair of beads
Origin of pair
Middle English paire ; from Old French ; from Classical Latin paria, neuter plural of par, equal: see partransitive verb
- to make a pair of (two persons or things) by matching, joining, mating, etc.
- to arrange in pairs
- to provide with a partner: followed by with
intransitive verb
- to form a pair; match
- to join in marriage; mate
pair Idioms
pair off
- to join or arrange (two people or things) in a pair
- to go apart or separate into pairs
pair
noun
pl. pair pair or pairs- Two corresponding persons or items, similar in form or function and matched or associated: a pair of shoes.
- One object composed of two joined, similar parts that are dependent upon each other: a pair of pliers.
- a. Two persons who are married, engaged, or dating.b. Two persons who have something in common and are considered together: a pair of hunters.c. Two mated animals.d. Two animals joined together in work.
- Games Two playing cards of the same denomination.
- Two members of a deliberative body with opposing opinions on a given issue who agree to abstain from voting on the issue, thereby offsetting each other.
- Chemistry An electron pair.
verb
paired, pair·ing, pairs pairsverb
, transitive- To arrange in sets of two; couple: The golfers are paired in twosomes for this round of play.
- To combine or join (one person or thing) with another to form a pair: a director pairing his favorite actor with an unknown; a salad that is paired with a fine dressing.
verb
, intransitive- To form pairs or a pair: The people on the dance floor paired up.
- To join with another in love or mating.
Origin of pair
Middle English, from Old French paire, from Latin paria, equals, pl. of pār, a pair, from pār, equal; see per&schwa;-2 in Indo-European roots. Usage Note: The noun pair can be followed by a singular or plural verb. The singular is always used when pair denotes the set taken as a single entity: This pair of shoes is on sale. A plural verb is used when the members are considered as individuals: The pair are working more harmoniously now. After a number other than one, pair itself can be either singular or plural, but the plural is now more common: I bought six pairs (or pair) of shoes.pair
Noun
(plural pairs or pair)
- Two similar or identical things taken together; often followed by of.
- I couldn't decide which of the pair of designer shirts I preferred, so I bought the pair.
- Two people in a relationship, partnership (especially sexual) or friendship.
- Spouses should make a great pair.
- Used with binary nouns (often in the plural to indicate multiple instances, since such nouns are plurale tantum)
- a pair of scissors; two pairs of spectacles; several pairs of jeans
- A couple of working animals attached to work together, as by a yoke.
- A pair is harder to drive than two mounts with separate riders.
- (card games) A poker hand that contains of two cards of identical rank, which cannot also count as a better hand.
- (cricket) A score of zero runs (a duck) in both innings of a two-innings match
- (baseball, informal) A double play, two outs recorded in one play
- They turned a pair to end the fifth.
- (baseball, informal) A doubleheader, two games played on the same day between the same teams
- The Pirates took a pair from the Phillies.
- (slang) A pair of breasts
- She's got a gorgeous pair.
- (Australia, politics) The exclusion of one member of a parliamentary party from a vote, if a member of the other party is absent for important personal reasons.
- Two members of opposite parties or opinion, as in a parliamentary body, who mutually agree not to vote on a given question, or on issues of a party nature during a specified time.
- There were two pairs on the final vote.
- (archaic) A number of things resembling one another, or belonging together; a set.
- (kinematics) In a mechanism, two elements, or bodies, which are so applied to each other as to mutually constrain relative motion; named in accordance with the motion it permits, as in turning pair, sliding pair, twisting pair.
Verb
(third-person singular simple present pairs, present participle pairing, simple past and past participle paired)
- To group into sets of two.
- The wedding guests were paired boy/girl and groom's party/bride's party.
- To bring two (animals, notably dogs) together for mating.
- (politics, slang) To engage (oneself) with another of opposite opinions not to vote on a particular question or class of questions.
- (intransitive) To suit; to fit, as a counterpart.
- pair off
- pair up
- parity
Origin
From Old French paire, from Latin paria (“equals”), neuter plural of pār.
Verb
(third-person singular simple present pairs, present participle pairing, simple past and past participle paired)
- (obsolete) To impair.
Anagrams
- PIRA
pair - Computer Definition
To establish a wireless connection. See pairing and Bluetooth pairing.
pair - Investment & Finance Definition
pair
Variant of pair
noun
pl. pairs or pair- two similar or corresponding things joined, associated, or used together: a pair of gloves
- a single thing made up of two corresponding parts that are used together: a pair of pants
- two persons or animals; specif.,
- a married, engaged, or courting couple
- two mated animals
- any two people considered as having something in common: a pair of thieves
- a brace; span: a pair of oxen
- two legislators on opposing sides of some question who agree to withhold their vote so as to offset each other; also, such an agreement
- two playing cards of the same denomination
- Chiefly Dial. a set or series: a pair of stairs, a pair of beads
Origin of pair
Middle English paire ; from Old French ; from Classical Latin paria, neuter plural of par, equal: see partransitive verb
- to make a pair of (two persons or things) by matching, joining, mating, etc.
- to arrange in pairs
- to provide with a partner: followed by with
intransitive verb
- to form a pair; match
- to join in marriage; mate
pair Idioms
pair off
- to join or arrange (two people or things) in a pair
- to go apart or separate into pairs
