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affair

Pronunciation: /əˈfɛː/
Translate affair | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of affair

noun

  • 1an event or sequence of events of a specified kind or that has previously been referred to:the board admitted responsibility for the affair I wanted the funeral to be a family affair
  • a matter that is a particular person’s concern or responsibility:what you do in your spare time is your affair
  • (affairs) matters of public interest and importance:commissions were created to advise on foreign affairs
  • (affairs) business and financial dealings:his time was spent in winding up his affairs
  • 2a love affair:his wife is having an affair
  • 3 [with adjective] informal an object of a particular type:her dress was a black low-cut affair

Phrases

put one's affairs in order

ensure that one’s financial and legal arrangements are properly organized, especially in preparation for one’s death:before he died he put his affairs in order and updated his will

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French afaire, from à faire 'to do'; compare with ado

affair in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of affair in the US English dictionary