Meanings
comparative more au fait · superlative most au fait
- Being familiar with or informed about something.
Are you au fait with the rules of the game?
4 more examples
The Chevalier was, as usual, au fait at all the anecdotes of the court, which had been exceedingly gay, owing to the visit of Madame de Savoie and her daughter, the Princess Marguerite.
1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XV, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 175Now there is father; he is au fait in all these matters; has a theory for every case of whooping-cough, – and a mission school.
1871, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, “The Silent Partner”, in Popular American Literature of the 19th Century, →ISBN, page 857In that case, it would help to have a benevolent deity who is au fait with those complexities — but that there is such a deity is a feature of Stoic theology.
1999, R.J. Hankinson, The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy, →ISBN, page 535This may sound needless to the professional who is au fait with the history and direction of the investigation.
2003, D R J Laming, Understanding Human Motivation: What Makes People Tick?, →ISBN, page 4Synonyms: acquainted, at home, conversant, familiar
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveBeing familiar with or informed about something.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivebeing up to particular standard or level especially in being up to date in knowledge
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Frenchau fait
- Englishau fait
Borrowed from French au fait (literally “at the fact”).
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
au fait. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/au%20fait
“au fait.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/au%20fait. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “au fait,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/au%20fait.
Source: au fait on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.