state fair

noun

An annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall.

Meanings

state fair1

nounstate fair (plural state fairs)

plural state fairs · alternative State Fair

  1. USAn annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall.

    Once a year, around the time of the harvest, every state in the U.S.A. holds a state fair. If you have ever been to a state fair, you know that there are many different things to see and do.

    2004, Becky Radtke, At the State Fair Coloring Book, Courier Corporation, →ISBN
    2 more examples

    When summer ended—when the State Fair closed and the heat broke, when the last green hop vines had been torn down along the H Street road and the tule fog began rising off the low ground at night—[…]

    1968, Joan Didion, “Notes from a Native Daughter”, in Slouching Towards Bethlehem

    Olga Robak, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Agriculture, which oversees the state fair, said Mr. Allen had adequately disclosed Midjourney’s involvement when submitting his piece; the category’s rules allow any “artistic practice that uses digital technology as part of the creative or presentation process.

    2022 September 2, Kevin Roose, “An A.I.-Generated Picture Won an Art Prize. Artists Aren’t Happy.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

State Fair2

nounState Fair (plural State Fairs)

plural State Fairs

  1. Alternative letter-case form of state fair.
Cite this entry
APA

state fair. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/state%20fair

MLA

“state fair.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/state%20fair. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “state fair,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/state%20fair.

Source: state fair on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.