Meaning & use
Blair
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Meanings
proper nounproper
A first name, given to girls and boys, that began as a Scottish family name linked to a Gaelic word for a field or plain.
Grammar: Used without an article: Blair is coming, not the Blair is coming.
Our new neighbor, Blair, moved in from Chicago last week.
I asked Blair to save me a seat in the lecture hall.
They named their daughter Blair after her great-grandmother's family.
proper nounproperBritish
A surname, best known in Britain from Tony Blair, who led the Labour Party and was prime minister from 1997 to 2007.
Grammar: Often appears in phrases like the Blair years, where it works like an adjective.
Patterns
- the Blair government
- the Blair years
Many voters still debate the legacy of the Blair government.
Mrs. Blair taught geography at my school for thirty years.
Under Blair, the party moved toward the political center.
Common combinations
- Tony Blair
- Tony Blair won three general elections in a row.
- the Blair years
- Economists still argue about public spending during the Blair years.
- the Blair government
- The Blair government introduced devolution for Scotland and Wales.
- Blair Atholl
- We stopped for lunch at Blair Atholl on the way to the Highlands.
Word family
- Blairite noun
- a supporter of Tony Blair's centrist policies
- Blairite adjective
- relating to the ideas or followers of Tony Blair
- Blairism noun
- the political approach associated with Tony Blair
Commonly confused: Blair or blare?
Blair vs blare
Blare is a verb meaning to make a loud, harsh sound, as in a horn blaring. It sounds exactly like Blair but is never a name.
Practice
Which word sounds the same as the name Blair but means to make a loud, harsh noise?
Choose one answer.
Blare is pronounced like Blair and means to sound loudly. Bear sounds similar in some accents but is not about noise, and bleat is the cry of a sheep.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Blair”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.