Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for fair shake. Search instead for fair+shake.
Synonyms

fair shake

American  

noun

Informal.

  1. an equitable opportunity or treatment.

    The judges promised that every entrant in the contest would get a fair shake.

Etymology

Origin of fair shake

An Americanism dating back to 1820–30

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The presale ticket lottery for those residing in ZIP Codes around LA28 venues also meant we would have a fair shake at getting into the Games, right?

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

So I tried to give it a fair shake.

From Salon • Feb. 24, 2025

We need a fair shake because this is the biggest fight in heavyweight history.

From BBC • May 16, 2024

“You want your client to have a fair shake here, just as DA does. I will do my levelheaded best to make sure that happens.”

From Slate • Apr. 18, 2024

A nation that believes that everyone should have a fair shake finds itself with a kind of inherited meritocracy.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.