1A set of two things used together or regarded as a unit.

1. 1.1 An article or object consisting of two joined or corresponding parts not used separately.
   a pair of jeans

   Example sentencesExamples

   • While being in this room she also had a pair of ear phones on playing music all the time to help her relax and help her be stress free.
   • She went to join Caleb who had donned a pair of jeans and a sweater and was in the kitchen making breakfast.
   • I managed to find a clean pair of jeans and a black t-shirt.
   • Furiously, she grabbed a large pair of scissors and started snipping away.
   • I'm even looking into buying a decent pair of binoculars.
   • Grab a pair of sharp scissors and at least two pairs of pants you won't miss until next winter.
   • Here's everything you need to know to buy a perfect pair of exercise pants.
   • Sally suggests putting together a pair of straight trousers with a biggish top and a belt slung around loosely.
   • She went to the kitchen, and grabbed a pair of scissors out of a drawer.
   • The master-at-arms immediately walked over toward Jack, taking out a pair of handcuffs.
   • I quickly hurried over to the closet and pulled out my cleanest pair of jeans.
   • Pair a basic pair of jeans with a shirt you really like, or a cool belt or shoes.
   • Maybe she can run me up a couple of pairs of slacks while she's there.
   • He's sporting a pair of Union Jack leggings - but only because he's been exercising, he assures me.
   • There was a full blouse with a tunic that went over top, and a pair of plain cotton britches.
   • Once outside, Rebecca donned a pair of sunglasses, effectively hiding her silvery eyes.
   • Any guy can wear a pair of cargo pants and a faded tee shirt.
   • She just shuffles along in layers of coats and jumpers, wearing two pairs of cheap sunglasses.
   • Take the necessary only… some underwear, a couple of T shirts, a pair of sneakers, a pair of jeans and maybe two pairs of shorts.
   • After he took his shower, Romeo picked out a clean pair of jeans and his favorite tee shirt.

   Synonyms

   set of two, set, matching set, matched set, two of a kind
2. 1.2 Two playing cards of the same denomination.
   I have a pair of jacks

   Example sentencesExamples

   • One of my opponents had a pair of aces in her hand.
   • For instance, a player might be able to win a set with only two cards if those cards are a pair of aces.
   • If you have a pair of aces in your hand and there's an ace on the board, that's three aces.
   • The proposed jackpot would be awarded, for a side bet, to players receiving both a royal flush and a pair of aces.
   • I think one of them had a pair of nines and one had a pair of aces.
   • The fact that B's pairs of trumps are in sequence has no effect here, because the led cards were not in sequence.
   • said Relena, who placed a pair of aces and a pair of kings down on the table.
   • The lowest winning hand can be a single pair, an ace and king, or even a single high card.
   • Any pair of aces or below can be beaten by a single two, jack or joker.
   • Some players allow the pairs hand with wilds, sevens and aces to use a pair of jokers or a pair of twos as the wilds.
   • The opener had either a pair or two high cards, one possibly an ace.
   • In his hand he held a pair of aces; two bullets for the opposition.
   • Well, fate seemed to deny him any runs, pairs or face cards and even any metal implement to do some damage.
   • If there's a bet, you're most likely against a pair of aces, but an inside 8 will make you a straight.
   • Keep those cards close to the vest and no one is going to beat a pair of aces.
   • Again I raised, he countered with a reraise and I went all in - with nothing more than a pair of aces.
3. 1.3 Two people related in some way or considered together.
   a company run by a pair of brothers

   every naughty thing the pair of them did made their faces look worse

   students work alone or in pairs

   Example sentencesExamples

   • We dived down in pairs and swam around the wreck.
   • A walking bus is a safe way for children to get to and from school, walking in pairs hand-in-hand along the safest possible route, while being supervised by adults.
   • Vikings fought in pairs, shoulder to shoulder - and your shoulder man would stay with you through thick and thin, Dave says, watching your back while you watched his.
   • Working in pairs, the children were challenged to use their imagination, creativity and ingenuity to design and make a model using a specially created K'Nex kit.
   • He said parent volunteers worked in pairs supervising the evening's activities, which included table tennis, karaoke, table football and pool.
   • A substantial element of the system is the set of physical exercises performed in pairs and again based on the idea of the power of co-operation.
   • The sibling pair walked towards me with smiles on their faces.
   • Players are invited to enter in pairs, although individuals can enter and be paired up on the day.
   • The programme has included officers patrolling in pairs and has seen violent incidents fall and a 20 per cent increase in the number of revellers.
   • She said students were not required to come in pairs for the ball, because this would hamper the aim of holding the event, to help students get to know each other better.
   • Sometimes Eileen will work with the children on a one to one basis, other times she will host a session with the children in pairs, so that they can speak and relate to each.
   • Policemen patrolled the streets not in pairs but alone.
   • She added: ‘We would advise all tourists to travel in pairs.’
   • In this race everybody goes in pairs and each pair had to get a board and paddle out to a buoy about 10 meters out and back.
   • The children are aged between nine and 11, which is younger than most who take part in exchanges, and are staying in pairs with families in the village.
   • The children bounced in pairs and raised more than £200, which will be put towards garden furniture, so the children can eat their lunch outside when the whether is fine.
   • You need activities that can be done in pairs, such as a three-legged race or an obstacle races that need partners.
   • Split into five legs the runners go in pairs and Radcliffe's seniors managed a creditable 20th place finish, with the mixed team coming 42nd.
   • They must walk in pairs or threes, sometimes ones.
   • Working alone or in pairs, students were invited to create their own radio commercials and demonstrate their considerable creative skills.

   Synonyms

   two, couple, duo, duology, brace, twosome

   couple, man and wife, husband and wife, partners, lovers
4. 1.4 The second member of a pair in relation to the first.
   each course member tries to persuade his pair of the merits of his model

   Example sentencesExamples

   • So singletons out there, don't give up hope, your pair is out there somewhere!
   • The same questionnaire asks you to indicate the qualities you would want your dating pair to possess.
5. 1.5 A mated couple of animals.
   nine breeding pairs of birds

   Example sentencesExamples

   • In spring, mated pairs are defending territories on which they breed and thus necessarily must be male and female.
   • After a lot of hardship we were able to sight a pair of lions mating at the place.
   • The osprey pair, who mate for life, will share the task of warming the egg in their Scots Pine tree nest over the next 40 days until it hatches.
   • On May 1, 1999, five birds (two breeding pairs and a solitary male) remained on the plantation.
   • It was to my great good fortune that within a few weeks, one of our new pairs had mated and produced eggs, one of which was fertile.
   • Those wishing to breed the baraband parakeet in captivity should house pairs separately in long, spacious aviaries so they don't become overly fat.
   • Spring is when many songbirds are most active, busy competing for mates, establishing breeding pairs, setting up territories.
   • Williamson's Sapsuckers form monogamous pairs, a bird often pairing with its mate from a previous year.
   • In animal pairs, males are often more vigilant than females.
   • The sheer number and proximity of males and females is a boost, although some species do break away temporarily from the school in mating pairs when the moment to spawn arrives.
   • Brian, a keen ornithologist, also informed me that there's a breeding pair of herons right there in the harbour.
   • In nature, house flies can readily establish colonies from the progeny of a single pair mating.
   • The sexual activity of moths was continuously observed during the first dusk period and mated pairs were noted.
   • Though they were often exhibited in male-female pairs, the animals rarely reproduced.
   • Bitterns are one of the UK's rarest birds, with only 30 breeding pairs left as marshland habitats dry out.
   • No flocks consisting of more than three mated pairs were observed in the study area over the course of the two-year study period.
   • The beautiful pair were placed together at a wildlife site at Cheadle Royal Business Park in the hope they would mate and produce cygnets.
   • Downy Woodpeckers form monogamous breeding pairs in late winter.
   • Usually solitary creatures, desmans form monogamous pairs and mate in springtime.
   • But this new knowledge produced even more questions: Do pairs migrate and winter together?

   Synonyms

   two, couple, duo, duology, brace, twosome
6. 1.6 Two horses harnessed side by side.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • One of the methods employed to overcome the problem for northbound traffic was the addition of a pair of extra horses to a coach's team to aid in pulling it to the top of the hill.
   • A pair of horses was pulling a plough off in a field to the right of the village and a tall woman was guiding the plough.
   • Some contain the remains of a chariot and the pair of horses that once pulled it.
   • Before Brian had a chance to reply, a chariot carrying a single lady, pulled by a pair of white horses, went by.
   • Like a pair of horses pulling a carriage, both institutions need each other in order to fulfil their functions properly.
   • Back in the sheltered village, we supped a nice cup of tea at the Ramblers Rest and a smart cart rolled by drawn by a pair of grand black horses.
   • Two open carriages each pulled by a pair of placid horses had begun to make their parking lot rounds when I sat down.
   • The driver tied the long reins that controlled a pair of black horses to a post by his seat and then proceeded to open the door of the carriage.
   • He made history in the old days when he competed in ploughing championships with a pair of horses, at which he excelled.
   • In the distance, a pair of horses cantered cheerfully by, one of them supporting a red flag in his teeth and the other neighing joyfully at him.
   • A neatly dressed footman in navy blue livery stood, alert, by its side and a pair of gleaming chestnut horses were in harness.
   • Most horse pairs drawing splendid carriages belonged to jobmasters, as very few noblemen brought their carriage horses into London.3

   Synonyms

   two horses, team, yoke, span
7. 1.7 Either or both of two members of a legislative assembly on opposite sides who absent themselves from voting by mutual arrangement, leaving the relative position of the parties unaffected.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • The arrangement of pairs is left in the hands of the 'Party Whips'.
   • Voting by proxy is not allowed in Parliament but a similar effect is achieved through the practice known as 'pairs'.

1Join or connect to form a pair.

1. 1.1no object (of animals) mate.
   they bought a rooster to pair with the hen

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Females had the opportunity to pair with solitary males but did not do so.
   • In many species pairs are stable for at least three years, and some butterflyfishes may pair for life.
   • White plumage may be critical for attracting a mate, but even after pairing with a female during the breeding season, a male that keeps a clean profile may have an advantage.
   • Previous experience showed that some male pied flycatchers sing in captivity during the part of the breeding season when free-living birds are pairing.
   • Males and females did not pair with like partners but paired disassortatively according to personality.
   • Once paired, the breeding pair remains in the same territory until the death of one member of the pair.
   • Females paired to low-ranking males constructed nests near the territory edges of neighboring high-ranking males.
   • Once paired, the male brings nest material to the female, who builds the stick nest in a tree or shrub.
   • These fish stay paired for at least a year and sometimes for their entire lifetime. They spawn year-round, usually near the full moon.
   • Cardinals frequently remained paired over several breeding seasons, but we used only the initial pairings in the consideration of assortative mating.
   • Females pair with a male within a day of arriving and begin building their first nest within a few days.
   • Barnacle geese pair monogamously, and males prefer larger and heavier females.
   • The cheetahs are kept in enclosures and are used for pairing, also with animals bred in captivity, as a further way of promoting their numbers and their gene pool.
   • Floater birds never paired with other nonterritorial birds; however, the opportunity for such behavior existed for at least five of our banded floaters.
   • We assume for simplicity that the female will pair with one of the two bidding males.
   • Williamson's Sapsuckers form monogamous pairs, a bird often pairing with its mate from a previous year.
   • They are one of the latest North American ducks to pair, with most pairs forming late in migration.
   • That is, more attractive females tended to pair with more attractive males, or vice-versa.
   • Once paired, they build a nest on the ground of seaweed, eelgrass, and algae, held together by droppings.
   • In most cases, if a bird paired with a different mate in a subsequent breeding season, the mate from the previous season was not seen again and was presumed dead.
2. 1.2pair off/upno object Form a couple.
   Rachel has paired up with Tommy

   Example sentencesExamples

   • All twelve celebrities taking part will jet off to the paradise island this week where they will stay on the beach in traditional bamboo huts before being paired off together for a string of dates..
   • And, during dead spots during the caper, they find time to tell their lives' stories, and each girl pairs off romantically with the guy of her choice.
   • The oddest of people from the remotest corners of the world were pairing up together thanks to the Internet and Cupid's timely intervention.
   • Hrithick and Kareena pair up in this light-hearted romantic lark.
   • Dolly is a professional matchmaker who specialises in pairing up rich businessmen with beautiful wives.
   • The song changes and a few people begin pairing off and dancing together.
   • In one deft sequence, Carrington sits outside Ham Spray House, draped in a blanket, watching the loves of her life pair off into new relationships.
   • It wasn't until he became a teenager and everyone in his circle of friends began to pair off and have relationships did he come to understand what it was he felt for his long lost friend.
   • It's rumoured that he and Daphne have a hidden romance on the show, as they always seem to pair off together and disappear for long periods of time, but there is no clear evidence to support this.
   • Match-makers Jane Gledhill and Chris Cunningham had hoped to be swamped with single people wanting to be paired off - but their romantic speed-dating notion has had so few admirers that they have had to call the whole thing off.

   Synonyms

   get together, join up, link up, team up, unite, form a partnership, form a couple, make a twosome
3. 1.3 Give (a member of a legislative assembly) another member as a pair, to allow both to absent themselves from a vote without affecting the result.
   an absent member on one side is to be paired with an absentee on the other

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Notwithstanding the newly formalized way of arranging pairs, House of Commons Speaker John Fraser noted in a 1992 ruling that agreements to pair still are private arrangements between Members and not matters in which House or the Speaker can intervene.
   • When they agree to pair themselves they indicate their respective positions on the issue and the fact that their absences did not effect the outcome.