par

¹ American  

[pahr] / pɑr /

noun

1. Finance.

   1. the legally established value of the monetary unit of one country in terms of that of another using the same metal as a standard of value.

   2. the state of the shares of any business, undertaking, loan, etc., when they may be purchased at the original price issue par or at their face value nominal par.

2. an equality in value or standing; a level of equality.

   The gains and the losses are on a par.

3. an average, usual, or normal amount, degree, quality, condition, standard, or the like.

   above par;

   to feel below par.

4. Golf. the number of strokes set as a standard for a specific hole or a complete course.

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adjective

1. average or normal.

2. Finance. at or pertaining to par.

   the par value of a bond.

verb (used with object)

parred, parring

1. Golf. to equal par on (a hole or course).

idioms

1. at par, (of a share) purchasable at issue par or nominal par.

2. par for the course, exactly what one might expect; predictable; typical.

   They were late again, but that's par for the course.

par ² American  

[pahr] / pɑr /

adjective

Insurance.

1. of or relating to participating insurance.

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par- ³ American  

1. variant of para- before a vowel.

   parenchyma.

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par. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. paragraph.

2. parallel.

3. parenthesis.

4. parish.

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par ¹ British  

/ pɑː /

noun

1. an accepted level or standard, such as an average (esp in the phrase up to par )

2. a state of equality (esp in the phrase on a par with )

3. finance the established value of the unit of one national currency in terms of the unit of another where both are based on the same metal standard

4. commerce

   1. See par value

   2. the condition of equality between the current market value of a share, bond, etc, and its face value (the nominal par ). This equality is indicated by at par, while above ( or below ) par indicates that the market value is above (or below) face value

5. golf an estimated standard score for a hole or course that a good player should make

   par for the course was 72

6. not feeling or performing as well as normal

7. an expected or normal occurrence or situation

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adjective

1. average or normal

2. (usually prenominal) commerce of or relating to par

   par value

par. ² British  

abbreviation

1. paragraph

2. parenthesis

3. parish

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Par. ³ British  

abbreviation

1. Paraguay

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par- ⁴ British  

prefix

1. a variant of para- 1

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par More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing par

• below par
• on a par with
• up to par

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Etymology

Origin of par¹

First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin pār “matching, equal”

Origin of par²

Shortening of participating

Explanation

In golf, par is the average number of times an excellent player needs to hit the ball, either for one particular hole or for the entire course. You might describe the fourth hole, for example, as being par five. If a golf course is par sixteen, it takes a really good golfer about sixteen strokes to get her ball into the final hole. From the sports meaning of par, it's come to also mean "average" or "equivalent," especially in phrases like "under par," or "worse than expected," and "par for the course," or "what is normal given the circumstances." This definition actually came first, in the form of the Latin par, "equal."

Example Sentences

When looking at the waits per head of population, gynaecology is on a par with trauma and orthopaedics as the two specialties with the longest waiting lists in Wales.

From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026

Those tales are all par for the course at this point.

From Salon • Apr. 19, 2026

But today it is on par with boomers’ average wealth when they were similar ages, after adjusting for inflation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

The producer price index for total final demand rose 0.5% in March, less than economists expected and on par with February’s revised gain.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

To be efficient, in the Gilbreth family, was a virtue on a par with veracity, honesty, generosity, philanthropy, and tooth-brushing.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey