fair shake
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of fair shake
An Americanism dating back to 1820–30
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.
Then Mamdani would get a fair shake, and so would the rest of us.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 8, 2025
Using the same lawyer means that neither party is getting a fair shake.
From Salon • Aug. 31, 2024
We need a fair shake because this is the biggest fight in heavyweight history.
From BBC • May 16, 2024
Hall argued Karamo never got a fair shake: “As soon as she was elected, people were trying to get her out of her seat.”
From Slate • May 6, 2024
The contraction—usually two words combined into one, as in don’t or I’m—seldom gets a fair shake from English teachers.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
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.
