The difference between Fair and Neat

When used as nouns, fair means something which is fair (in various senses of the adjective), whereas neat means a bull or cow.

When used as adjectives, fair means beautiful, of a pleasing appearance, with a pure and fresh quality, whereas neat means clean, tidy.


Fair is also adverb with the meaning: clearly, openly, frankly, civilly, honestly, favorably, auspiciously, agreeably.

Fair is also verb with the meaning: to smoothen or even a surface (especially a connection or junction on a surface).

check bellow for the other definitions of Fair and Neat

  1. Fair as an adjective (literary, _, or, _, archaic):

    Beautiful, of a pleasing appearance, with a pure and fresh quality.

    Examples:

    "Monday's child is fair of face."

    "There was once a knight who wooed a fair young maid."

  2. Fair as an adjective:

    Unblemished (figuratively or literally); clean and pure; innocent.

    Examples:

    "one's fair name"

    "After scratching out and replacing various words in the manuscript, he scribed a fair copy to send to the publisher."

  3. Fair as an adjective:

    Light in color, pale, particularly as regards skin tone but also referring to blond hair.

    Examples:

    "She had fair hair and blue eyes."

  4. Fair as an adjective:

    Just, equitable.

    Examples:

    "He must be given a fair trial."

  5. Fair as an adjective:

    Adequate, reasonable, or decent.

    Examples:

    "The patient was in a fair condition after some treatment."

  6. Fair as an adjective (nautical, of a wind):

    Favorable to a ship's course.

  7. Fair as an adjective:

    Not overcast; cloudless; clear; pleasant; propitious; said of the sky, weather, or wind, etc.

    Examples:

    "a fair sky;  a fair day"

  8. Fair as an adjective:

    Free from obstacles or hindrances; unobstructed; unencumbered; open; direct; said of a road, passage, etc.

    Examples:

    "a fair mark;  in fair sight;  a fair view"

  9. Fair as an adjective (shipbuilding):

    Without sudden change of direction or curvature; smooth; flowing; said of the figure of a vessel, and of surfaces, water lines, and other lines.

  10. Fair as an adjective (baseball):

    Between the baselines.

  11. Fair as an adjective (rugby, of a catch):

    Taken direct from an opponent's foot, without the ball touching the ground or another player.

  12. Fair as an adjective (cricket, of a ball delivered by the bowler):

    Not a no-ball.

  1. Fair as a noun:

    Something which is fair (in various senses of the adjective).

    Examples:

    "When will we learn to distinguish between the fair and the foul?"

  2. Fair as a noun (obsolete):

    A woman, a member of the ‘fair sex'; also as a collective singular, women.

  3. Fair as a noun (obsolete):

    Fairness, beauty.

    Examples:

    "rfquotek Shakespeare"

  4. Fair as a noun:

    A fair woman; a sweetheart.

  5. Fair as a noun (obsolete):

    Good fortune; good luck.

  1. Fair as a verb:

    To smoothen or even a surface (especially a connection or junction on a surface).

  2. Fair as a verb:

    To bring into perfect alignment (especially about rivet holes when connecting structural members).

  3. Fair as a verb:

    To construct or design a structure whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline or reduce air drag or water resistance.

  4. Fair as a verb (obsolete):

    To make fair or beautiful.

  1. Fair as an adverb:

    clearly, openly, frankly, civilly, honestly, favorably, auspiciously, agreeably

  1. Fair as a noun:

    A community gathering to celebrate and exhibit local achievements.

  2. Fair as a noun:

    An event for public entertainment and trade, a market.

  3. Fair as a noun:

    An event for professionals in a trade to learn of new products and do business, a trade fair.

  4. Fair as a noun:

    A travelling amusement park (called a funfair in British English and a (travelling) carnival in US English).

  1. Neat as a noun (archaic):

    A bull or cow.

  2. Neat as a noun (archaic):

    Cattle collectively.

  1. Neat as an adjective:

    Clean, tidy; free from dirt or impurities.

    Examples:

    "My room is neat because I tidied it this morning.  nowrap She has very neat hair."

  2. Neat as an adjective:

    Free from contaminants; unadulterated, undiluted. Particularly of liquor and cocktails; see usage below.

    Examples:

    "I like my whisky neat."

  3. Neat as an adjective (chemistry):

    Conditions with a liquid reagent or gas performed with no standard solvent or cosolvent.

    Examples:

    "The Arbuzov reaction is performed by adding the bromide to the phosphite, neat.  nowrap The molecular beam was neat acetylene."

  4. Neat as an adjective (archaic):

    With all deductions or allowances made; net.

  5. Neat as an adjective:

    Having a simple elegance or style; clean, trim, tidy, tasteful.

    Examples:

    "The front room was neat and carefully arranged for the guests."

  6. Neat as an adjective:

    Well-executed or delivered; clever, skillful, precise.

    Examples:

    "Having the two protagonists meet in the last act was a particularly neat touch."

  7. Neat as an adjective (North American, colloquial):

    Good, excellent, desirable.

    Examples:

    "Hey, neat convertible, man."

  1. Neat as a noun (informal):

    An artificial intelligence researcher who believes that solutions should be elegant, clear and provably correct. Compare .