Meaning & use
pair
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Meanings
nouncountable
Two things of the same kind that are used together or are meant to match.
Grammar: Takes of: a pair of shoes; with numbers it often stays singular: two pair of socks, or two pairs.
Patterns
- a pair of something
She bought a new pair of boots for winter.
I lost one earring from a pair.
He packed three pairs of socks.
nouncountable
A single item made of two joined parts, such as scissors or trousers.
Grammar: Takes of and a singular verb for the whole: a pair of scissors is on the desk.
Patterns
- a pair of something
Can you pass me a pair of scissors?
He wore a pair of jeans to the interview.
nouncountable
Two people who are linked together by friendship, work, or a relationship.
Grammar: May take a singular or plural verb: the pair is late or the pair are late.
Patterns
- a pair of someone
The pair have worked together for years.
A pair of hikers got lost in the fog.
The pair finished the race side by side.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To put two things or people together as a match, team, or couple.
Grammar: Often with up or with: pair students, or pair up with a partner.
Patterns
- pair something with something
- pair up with someone
The teacher paired each new student with a mentor.
This sauce pairs well with fish.
The players paired up for the drill.
Word forms
| plural | pairs |
|---|---|
| third person singular | pairs |
| past tense | paired |
| past participle | paired |
| -ing form | pairing |
Common combinations
- a pair of shoes
- She tried on a pair of shoes.
- pair up
- Please pair up and share your answers.
- pair with
- The wine pairs with the cheese.
- a matching pair
- They gave her a matching pair of gloves.
- a pair of hands
- We need an extra pair of hands to move the sofa.
- work in pairs
- The class worked in pairs.
Synonyms and how they differ
- couple
- Couple is looser and can mean about two, while pair stresses things that belong or work together.
- duo
- Duo is used mostly for performers or teams, and sounds more informal than pair.
- set
- Set usually means a group of several matching things rather than exactly two.
- match
- As a verb, match means to be equal or alike, while pair simply puts two things together.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: pair or pear? pair or pare?
pair vs pear
Pear is a fruit that sounds exactly like pair, so check the context before spelling.
pair vs pare
Pare means to trim off an edge or skin, and it sounds like pair.
Practice
I need a new ______ of glasses because I sat on my old ones.
Choose one answer.
A pair of glasses is the usual phrase for a single item with two lenses. Pare, pear and peer sound the same but mean other things.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pair”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.