favour
gb/fˈeɪvɚ/ us/fˈeɪvɚ/
A2
English
~ 2700
Senses
0 senses
Noun
A2
action
1
Kind or helpful act
Something you do to help someone in a kind way, without wanting money.
Usage pattern:
do [someone] a favour
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'favour' with 'flavour'; they are unrelated in meaning.
Synonyms
service (Slightly more formal; can also mean work done for payment.)
|
kindness (Focuses more on the quality of being kind than on the specific act.)
Antonyms
disservice (An action that harms rather than helps someone.)
Collocations
ask a favour
|do a favour
|return a favour
|owe a favour
Themes
daily life
|relationships
|emotions
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Could you do me a favour and pass the salt?
- She asked her neighbour for a small favour.
- Thanks for the favour; I really appreciate it.
- I owe him a favour for helping me last week.
Learner examples
- Please do me a favour and open the window.
- He asked me for a small favour.
- I did her a favour yesterday.
- She will return the favour soon.
Noun
B1
state
2
Preference or special treatment
Liking or treating one person or thing better than others.
Usage pattern:
in favour of [someone/something]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think 'in favour of' means 'against'; it actually means choosing one thing instead of another.
Synonyms
preference (Neutral; simply indicates choice without necessarily implying unfairness.)
|
bias (Often negative; suggests unfair preference.)
Antonyms
disfavour (The state of being disliked or having lost support.)
Collocations
show favour
|win favour
|in favour of
Themes
relationships
|society
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The judge was accused of showing favour to the defendant.
- The proposal was rejected in favour of a cheaper option.
- He quickly won the king's favour.
Learner examples
- She is in the teacher's favour.
- They chose the red dress in favour of the blue one.
- He won the boss's favour.
Verb
B2
action
3
Prefer or give advantage to
To like one person or thing more than another and treat them better.
Usage pattern:
favour [someone/something] over [someone/something]
Synonyms
prefer (More neutral; does not always imply giving an advantage.)
|
prioritize (Focuses on deciding something is more important than others.)
Antonyms
disfavour (To treat someone or something with less approval or support.)
Collocations
tend to favour
|favour heavily
|favour strongly
Themes
relationships
|society
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The policy seems to favour large businesses over small ones.
- She favoured her left leg after the injury.
- Parents should not favour one child over another.
Learner examples
- My teacher favours group work.
- The rule favours rich people.
- Do not favour one friend more than another.
Noun
B1
entity
4
Small gift for guests
A little present given to people who come to a party or wedding.
Synonyms
souvenir (Often bought during travel; not necessarily given at events.)
|
keepsake (Something kept as a reminder, often sentimental.)
Collocations
wedding favour
|party favours
Themes
daily life
|celebrations
|arts_entertainment
|relationships
|daily_life
Examples
- Each guest received a wedding favour at their table.
- Party favours included small bags of candy.
- They handed out colourful favours to the children.
Learner examples
- We got small favours at the wedding.
- The party favours were toys.
- They gave us chocolate as favours.
Grammar
Dictionary form
favour
IPA
GB/fˈeɪvɚ/
US/fˈeɪvɚ/
Syllables & stress
fa - vour (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (fa)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: favour
- Variant Spelling: favor
- Plural: favour, favours
Verb
- Base: favour
- Variant Spelling: favor
- 3rd Person Singular: favours
- Present Participle: favouring
- Past: favoured
Word family
Forms
Core family
Related words
favouritism
noun
Negative and opposite forms
unfavourable
adjective
unfavourably
adverb
Highlights
- Spelling Variant: favor Verb
- Spelling Variant: favor Noun
Expressions
do someone a favour
1/dˈu sˈʌmwˌʌn ə fˈeɪvɚ/
fixed phrase
Help someone without payment
To help someone by doing something for them without wanting money back.
Examples
- Can you do me a favour and call my sister?
- He did me a big favour by driving me to the airport.
find favour with someone
1/fˈaɪnd fˈeɪvɚ wˈɪθ sˈʌmwˌʌn/
fixed phrase
Gain approval or support from someone
To make someone like you or approve of you.
Examples
- His ideas found favour with the committee.
- The plan found favour with local residents.
in favour of
1/ˈɪn fˈeɪvɚ əv/
fixed phrase
Support or choose instead of another option
To support or choose one person, idea, or thing instead of another.
Examples
- They voted in favour of the new law.
- I am in favour of recycling programs.
return the favour
1/ɹɪtˈɚn ðə fˈeɪvɚ/
fixed phrase
Repay someone's kindness with kindness
To do something nice for someone because they helped you before.
Examples
- She helped me move, so I returned the favour by baking her a cake.
- He promised to return the favour someday.