- 1 enjoyment; pleasure; a thing that gives enjoyment or pleasure and makes you feel happy We had a lot of fun at Sarah's party. Sailing is good fun. Have fun! (= Enjoy yourself) I decided to learn Spanish, just for fun. I didn't do all that work just for the fun of it. It's not much fun going to a party on your own. ‘What fun!’ she said with a laugh. 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.’ Synonymsfunpleasure (a) good time enjoyment (a) great timeThese are all words for the feeling of enjoying yourself, or activities or time that you enjoy.fun (rather informal) the feeling of enjoying yourself; activities that you enjoy:We had a lot of fun at Sarah’s party. Sailing is good/great fun.pleasure (rather formal) the feeling of enjoying yourself or being satisfied:Reading for pleasure and reading for study are not the same.(a) good time (rather informal) a time that you spend enjoying yourself:We had a good time in Spain.enjoyment (rather formal) the feeling of enjoying yourself:I get a lot of enjoyment from music.pleasure or enjoyment?Enjoyment usually comes from an activity that you do; pleasure can come from something that you do or something that happens:He beamed with pleasure at seeing her. He beamed with enjoyment at seeing her.(a) great time (rather informal) a time that you spend enjoying yourself very much:We had a really great time together.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 Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveenormous, excellent, good, … verb + funbe, become, get, … fun + nounday prepositionfor fun , in fun , fun for, … phrasesbe no fun, a bit of fun, full of fun, … See full entry See related entries: Happiness
- 2 behaviour or activities that are not serious but come from a sense of enjoyment She's very lively and full of fun. We didn't mean to hurt him. It was just a bit of fun. It wasn't serious—it was all done in fun. Synonymsentertainmentfun recreation relaxation play pleasure amusementThese are all words for things or activities used to entertain people when they are not working.entertainment films, television, music, etc. used to entertain people:There are three bars, with live entertainment seven nights a week.fun (rather informal) behaviour or activities that are not serious but come from a sense of enjoyment:It wasn’t serious—it was all done in fun. We didn’t mean to hurt him. It was just a bit of fun. The lottery provides harmless fun for millions.recreation (rather formal) things people do for enjoyment when they are not working:His only form of recreation is playing football.relaxation (rather formal) things people do to rest and enjoy themselves when they are not working; the ability to relax:I go hill-walking for relaxation.recreation or relaxation?Both these words can be used for a wide range of activities, physical and mental, but relaxation is sometimes used for gentler activities than recreation:I play the flute in a wind band for recreation. I listen to music for relaxation.play things that people, especially children, do for enjoyment rather than as work:the happy sounds of children at playpleasure the activity of enjoying yourself, especially in contrast to working:Are you in Paris for business or pleasure?amusement the fact of being entertained by something:What do you do for amusement round here?Patterns to do something for entertainment/fun/recreation/relaxation/pleasure/amusement to provide entertainment/fun/recreation/relaxation/amusement Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveenormous, excellent, good, … verb + funbe, become, get, … fun + nounday prepositionfor fun , in fun , fun for, … phrasesbe no fun, a bit of fun, full of fun, … See full entry 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.Extra examples I only said it in fun—don’t take it seriously! I was only having a bit of fun. I write for fun, not because I expect to make money. It was just plain fun. It’s no fun getting up at 4 a.m. on a cold, rainy morning. Must you take all the fun out of everything? School isn’t all fun and games. She organized an annual fun day for local children. That’s when the real fun started! The boys’ game started as harmless fun but ended in tragedy. They took up motor racing just for the fun of it, rather than to win anything. This movie is full of fun. We had a lot of fun at Mick’s party. We won’t let a bit of rain spoil our fun. You have to have a sense of fun to be a good teacher. You’re missing all the fun! a game that’s fun for kids Have fun I decided to learn Spanish just for fun. I didn’t do all that work just for the fun of it. It wasn’t serious—it was all done in fun. It’s not much fun going to a party on your own. Sailing is good fun. She’s very lively and full of fun. Some of the tourist entertainments may seem tacky, but they’re all good, clean fun. Teaching isn’t all fun and games, you know. The lottery provides harmless fun for millions. We didn’t mean to hurt him. It was just a bit of fun.Idioms
to be/become somebody that other people laugh at
(informal) activities that are not serious and that other people may disapprove of
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. See related entries: Describing unpleasant traits
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. See related entries: Describing unpleasant traits
Check pronunciation: fun
