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Definition of fun noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

fun

noun
 
/fʌn/
 
/fʌn/
[uncountable]Idioms
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  1. the feeling of enjoying yourself; activities that you enjoy
    • We had a lot of fun at Sarah's party.
    • Sailing is good fun.
    • It was great fun! You should have come too.
    • That was the most fun I have had in years.
    • Have fun! (= Enjoy yourself)
    • ‘What fun!’ she said with a laugh.
    • We won't let a bit of rain spoil our fun.
    • for fun I decided to learn Spanish, just for fun.
    • I didn't do all that work just for the fun of it.
    • it is fun doing something It's not much fun going to a party on your own.
    • It's no fun getting up at 4  a.m. on a cold, rainy morning.
    • Walking three miles in the pouring rain is not my idea of fun.
    • The whole family can join in the fun at Water World.
    • ‘What do you say to a weekend in New York?’ ‘Sounds like fun.’
    Synonyms funfun(a) good time (a) great time pleasure enjoymentThese are all words for the feeling of enjoying yourself, or activities or time that you enjoy.fun (rather informal)
    • We had a lot of fun at Sarah’s party.
    • I only swim for fun.
    (a) good time (rather informal)
    • We had a good time in Spain.
    (a) great time (rather informal)
    • We had a really great time together.
    pleasure (rather formal)
    • Reading for pleasure and reading for study are not the same.
    • He beamed with pleasure at seeing her.
    enjoyment (rather formal)
    • I get a lot of enjoyment from music.
    Which word?Fun, (a) good time and (a) great time are all informal ways of describing the feeling or activity of enjoying yourself. Enjoyment and pleasure are more formal words. Enjoyment usually comes from an activity that you do. Pleasure can come from something that you do or something that happens.Patterns
    • to do something for fun/​pleasure/​enjoyment
    • great fun/​pleasure/​enjoyment
    • to have fun/​a good time/​a great time
    • to get pleasure/​enjoyment from something
    • to spoil the fun/​somebody’s pleasure/​somebody’s enjoyment
    Extra Examples
    • I write for fun, not because I expect to make money.
    • It was just plain fun.
    • Must you take all the fun out of everything?
    • She organized an annual fun day for local children.
    • That's when the real fun started!
    • The lottery provides harmless fun for millions.
    • They took up motor racing just for the fun of it, rather than to win anything.
    • You're missing all the fun!
    • Some of the tourist entertainments may seem tacky, but they're all good, clean fun.
    Topics Feelingsa1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • enormous
    • excellent
    • good
    verb + fun
    • be
    • become
    • get
    fun + noun
    • day
    preposition
    • for fun
    • in fun
    • fun  for
    phrases
    • be no fun
    • a bit of fun
    • full of fun
    See full entry
  2. behaviour or activities that are not serious but are meant to be enjoyed
    • She's very lively and full of fun.
    • We didn't mean to hurt him. It was just a bit of fun.
    • You have to have a sense of fun to be a good teacher.
    • in fun It wasn't serious—it was all done in fun.
    Synonyms entertainmententertainmentfun play pleasure relaxation recreation amusementThese are all words for activities that you enjoy when you are not working.entertainment
    • There are three bars, with live entertainment seven nights a week.
    fun (rather informal)
    • Sailing is good fun.
    • We didn’t mean to hurt him. It was just a bit of fun.
    • The lottery provides harmless fun for millions.
    play
    • the happy sounds of children at play
    pleasure
    • Are you in Paris for business or pleasure?
    recreation (rather formal)
    • His only form of recreation is playing football.
    relaxation (rather formal)
    • I go hill-walking for relaxation.
    • A hot bath is great form of relaxation.
    amusement
    • What do you do for amusement round here?
    Which word?Entertainment is something that you watch, listen to or do that makes you feel amused or happy. Fun describes activities that you do just to enjoy yourself and not for a serious reason. Play is used mainly to describe activities that children enjoy. Pleasure and recreation are used to describe activities that you do for enjoyment in contrast to working. Relaxation describes activities that you do to feel calm or relaxed. Amusement is the fact of being entertained by something. Patterns
    • to do something for entertainment/​fun/​pleasure/​recreation/​relaxation/​amusement
    • to provide entertainment/​fun/​recreation/​relaxation/​amusement
    Topics Games and toysa1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • enormous
    • excellent
    • good
    verb + fun
    • be
    • become
    • get
    fun + noun
    • day
    preposition
    • for fun
    • in fun
    • fun  for
    phrases
    • be no fun
    • a bit of fun
    • full of fun
    See full entry
  3. Word Originlate 17th cent. (denoting a trick or hoax): from obsolete fun ‘to cheat or hoax’, dialect variant of late Middle English fon ‘make a fool of, be a fool’, related to fon ‘a fool’, of unknown origin. Compare with fond.
Idioms
be/become a figure of fun
  1. to be/become somebody that other people laugh at
fun and games
  1. (informal) activities that are not serious and that other people may think are bad
    • Teaching isn't all fun and games, you know.
make fun of somebody/something
  1. to laugh at somebody/something or make other people laugh at them, usually in an unkind way
    • It's cruel to make fun of people who stammer.
    Topics Personal qualitiesb2
poke fun at somebody/something
  1. to say unkind things about somebody/something in order to make other people laugh at them synonym ridicule
    • Her novels poke fun at the upper class.
    • She’s always poking fun at herself.
    Topics Personal qualitiesc2
See fun in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
previously
adverb
 
 
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