affair

[ uh-fair ]
See synonyms for: affairaffairs on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. anything done or to be done; anything requiring action or effort; business; concern: an affair of great importance.

  2. 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.

  1. an event or a performance; a particular action, operation, or proceeding: When did this affair happen?

  2. thing; matter (applied to anything made or existing, usually with a descriptive or qualifying term): Our new computer is an amazing affair.

  3. a private or personal concern; a special function, business, or duty: That's none of your affair.

  4. an intense amorous relationship, usually of short duration.

  5. an event or happening that occasions or arouses notoriety, dispute, and often public scandal; incident: the Congressional bribery affair.

  6. a party, social gathering, or other organized festive occasion: The awards ceremony is the biggest affair on the school calendar.

Origin of affair

1
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

Words Nearby affair

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use affair in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for affair

affair

/ (əˈfɛə) /


noun
  1. a thing to be done or attended to; matter; business: this affair must be cleared up

  2. an event or happening: a strange affair

  1. (qualified by an adjective or descriptive phrase) something previously specified, esp a man-made object; thing: our house is a tumbledown affair

  2. a sexual relationship between two people who are not married to each other

Origin of affair

1
C13: from Old French, from à faire to do

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012