affair
Americannoun
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affairs
plural
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anything done or to be done; anything requiring action or effort; business; concern.
an affair of great importance.
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affairs, matters of commercial or public interest or concern; the transactions of public or private business or finance.
affairs of state; Before taking such a long trip you should put all your affairs in order.
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an event or a performance; a particular action, operation, or proceeding.
When did this affair happen?
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thing; matter (applied to anything made or existing, usually with a descriptive or qualifying term).
Our new computer is an amazing affair.
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a private or personal concern; a special function, business, or duty.
That's none of your affair.
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an intense amorous relationship, usually of short duration.
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an event or happening that occasions or arouses notoriety, dispute, and often public scandal; incident.
the Congressional bribery affair.
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a party, social gathering, or other organized festive occasion.
The awards ceremony is the biggest affair on the school calendar.
noun
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a thing to be done or attended to; matter; business
this affair must be cleared up
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an event or happening
a strange affair
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(qualified by an adjective or descriptive phrase) something previously specified, esp a man-made object; thing
our house is a tumbledown affair
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a sexual relationship between two people who are not married to each other
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of affair
1250–1300; earlier affaire < French, Old French afaire for a faire to do, equivalent to a (< Latin ad to) + faire ≪ Latin facere; replacing Middle English afere < Old French
Explanation
If your grandfather was so startled by people shouting "Surprise!" at his birthday party that he had a mild heart attack, you'd probably want to just forget the whole affair. An affair is a specific event. You can use affair as a kind of shorthand, to mean "that big mess," or "that complicated story I already told you about." Your affair can also mean your responsibility or job, like if your grandmother said, "I don't care about balloons for the party — that's your affair." Another way affair is frequently used is to mean a love affair, particularly if the relationship is brief and intense. This meaning comes from the French phrase affaire de coeur, "affair of the heart."
Vocabulary lists containing affair
The Poet X
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act V
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Because of Winn-Dixie
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
For Maureen Vines, Raleigh was also a family affair.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Rangers' new home shirt is a classy affair.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
It’s the grunting culmination of a love affair that began when Higdon, a retired cancer surgeon, encountered a line of yaks in Nepal not far from Mt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
The start of Khao Phansa on Thursday was a joyous affair in the rural province of Samut Sakhon, featuring offerings to monks and traditional dances.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
Stanton had heard about the affair from Theodore Tilton; Anthony had heard about it from Elizabeth Tilton.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
Hochman said Flores should have reported his colleagues’ misconduct to internal affairs or the LAPD’s inspector general.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf said "young British people are being shut out of entry level jobs and our whole economy is being undermined".
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
There’s a vast chasm between doing nothing and spending money trying to rehouse this relative and manage all his affairs.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
Awakening the American people to the true state of world affairs would be a historic achievement and bolster his reputation while making the nation more secure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
“What could become of Mr. Bingley and Jane!” was a wonder which introduced the discussion of their affairs.
From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
