fairweather friend

A form of fair-weather friend — One who is friendly, helpful, or available only when it is advantageous or convenient to be so.

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Meanings

nounfairweather friend (plural fairweather friends)

plural fairweather friends

  1. alternativeAlternative form of fair-weather friend.

    She did not even attempt to make a reply, or to ask her fairweather friend to remain; but suffered her to leave the room and the house without a word.

    1844, T[imothy] S[hay] Arthur, chapter VI, in Cecilia Howard: Or, The Young Lady who had Finished Her Education, New York, N.Y.: John Allen, 139 Nassau Street, →OCLC, page 49
Cite this entry
APA

fairweather friend. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fairweather%20friend

MLA

“fairweather friend.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fairweather%20friend. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fairweather friend,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fairweather%20friend.

Source: fairweather friend on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.