fair share
A significant amount, often implied to be excessive or inordinate; a great deal of something.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“I have done my fair share of work today.”
“After living in this city for twenty years, I have seen my fair share of bad weather.”
“The seasoned detective had encountered his fair share of complex cases, yet this particular mystery challenged even his extensive experience.”
First attested in the mid-1600s, the phrase is a compound of the adjective fair and the noun share. It entered the language as a standard pairing during the seventeenth century.
- 01
fair coin
A sequence of independent Bernoulli trials (a Bernoulli process) with probability 1/2 of success on each trial.
- 02
fair crack of the whip
Let's have an equitable attempt, match, or process. Used as an appeal for reasonableness.
- 03
fair enough
An expression used to concede a point, but suggesting that the broader argument is incorrect.
- 04
fair game
Actions permissible by the rules.
- 05
fair sex
Women collectively.
- 06
fair shake
Reasonable, unbiased treatment; a fair deal.
- 07
fair to middling
Only tolerably good; somewhat favorable.
- 08
lion's share
The majority; a large or generous portion.
Last updated August 10, 2026