Meaning & use
fair number
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
a fairly large amount or quantity of people or things
Grammar: Used as 'a fair number of' + plural noun. It takes a plural verb: A fair number of students are absent.
Patterns
- a fair number of people
- a fair number of something
- a fair number of them
A fair number of people came to the meeting.
We have a fair number of books about cooking.
A fair number of students failed the test.
phrasefixed phraseinformal
quite a lot, used when the exact amount is not known or not important
Grammar: Often used in speech and informal writing to give an approximate amount.
Patterns
- a fair number of times
- a fair number of years
I've been there a fair number of times.
She has worked here a fair number of years.
Common combinations
- a fair number of people
- A fair number of people signed the petition.
- a fair number of times
- I have visited the city a fair number of times.
- a fair number of students
- A fair number of students take the bus.
- a fair number of years
- He has lived abroad for a fair number of years.
Synonyms and how they differ
- quite a few
- Quite a few is more informal and slightly stronger than a fair number.
- a good number
- A good number is very similar but often suggests a slightly larger amount.
- several
- Several means more than two but not very many; it is more exact than a fair number.
Opposites
Word family
- fairly adverb
- to a moderate degree; quite
Commonly confused: fair number or fair amount?
fair number vs fair amount
Fair amount is used with uncountable nouns: a fair amount of money. Fair number is used with countable plural nouns: a fair number of people.
Practice
______ of tourists visit the castle every summer.
Choose one answer.
The phrase is 'a fair number of' + plural noun, so 'A fair number' fits. 'A fair amount' is used with uncountable nouns, and 'Fair number' is missing 'a'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fair number”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.