fair-weather
Americanadjective
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used in or intended for fair weather only.
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weakening or failing in time of trouble.
His fair-weather friends left him when he lost his money.
adjective
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suitable for use in fair weather only
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not reliable or present in situations of hardship or difficulty (esp in the phrase fair-weather friend )
Etymology
Origin of fair-weather
First recorded in 1730–40
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.
In response, Burnham said last week: "We are not fair-weather friends, we will be there in Ukraine's hour of need and that won't change."
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
Washington may be tempted to move its bases from the Persian Gulf region since many of them sustained substantial damage, and our Arab allies can be fair-weather friends.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
“I don’t know if I’d call her a fair-weather fan, but she doesn’t live and die with the team as I have,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2024
And, of course, there are always those fair-weather fans who pop up when their local team is succeeding.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 5, 2024
Chup led Frightful higher and higher, to the misty bottom of a fair-weather cumulus cloud.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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.
