I. fa ‧ vour 1 S2 W3 BrE AmE British English , favor American English /ˈfeɪvə $ -ər/ noun
1 . HELP [countable] something that you do for someone in order to help them or be kind to them:
Could you do me a favour and tell Kelly I can’t make it?
He hired John as a favour to his father.
Paul, can I ask you a favor?
I owed him a favour so I couldn’t say no.
She helps me out when I have too much to do, and I return the favour when I can.
Do yourself a favour and make sure you get some time to yourself.
2 . SUPPORT/APPROVAL [uncountable] support, approval, or agreement for something such as a plan, idea, or system
in favour of something
Senior ministers spoke in favour of the proposal.
I talked to Susie about it, and she’s all in favor (=completely approves) of going.
find/gain/win favour
The idea may find favor with older people.
in somebody/sth’s favour
The vote was 60–59 in the government’s favor.
In Sweden and other countries, nuclear power has lost favor.
look on/view/regard something with favour formal (=support something, and want to help it succeed)
Employers are more likely to look with favour on experienced candidates.
All in favour (=used when asking people to vote on something by raising a hand) ?
vote/decide in favour of something (=vote or decide to support something)
288 members voted in favor of the ban.
find/rule in favour of somebody formal (=make a legal decision that supports someone)
3 . POPULAR/UNPOPULAR [uncountable] when someone or something is liked or approved of by people, or not liked or approved of
be in favour (with somebody)
The island is very much in favour as a holiday destination.
be out of favour (with somebody)
The stock is currently out of favor with investors.
find/gain/win favour
Radcliffe’s books began to find favour with the reading public.
come/be back in favour (=become popular again)
Fountain pens have come back in favour.
fall/go out of favour (=stop being approved of)
Grammar-based teaching methods went out of favour in the 60s and 70s.
4 . ADVANTAGE in sb’s favour if something is in someone’s favour, it gives them an advantage over someone else:
Conditions on court are very much in Williams’ favour.
The new rules should actually work in your favor.
Duncan had his height and weight in his favour during the fight.
the odds are (stacked) in sb’s favour (=someone has a big advantage)
5 . CHOOSE SOMETHING INSTEAD do something in favour of something if you decide not to use one thing in favour of another, you choose the other one because you think it is better:
Plans for a tunnel were rejected in favour of a bridge.
6 . do somebody/something no favours, not do somebody/something any favours to do something that makes someone or something look worse than they are, or that does not help at all:
Low interest rates don’t do savers any favours.
7 . UNFAIR SUPPORT [uncountable] support that is given to one person or group and not to others, in a way that does not seem fair:
Teachers should not show favour to any pupil.
8 . do me/us a favour! British English spoken used when you are annoyed because someone has asked a silly question or done something to upset people:
Do us a favour, Mike, and shut up!
‘Did you like it?’ ‘Do me a favour!’
9 . GIFT [countable] American English a ↑ party favor
10 . SEX favours [plural] old-fashioned when you allow someone to have sex with you:
She shared her sexual favors with many men.
⇨ curry favour (with somebody) at ↑ curry 2 , ⇨ without fear or favour at ↑ fear 1 (6), ⇨ be thankful/grateful for small favours at ↑ small 1 (13)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ do somebody a favour (=do something for someone)
Could you do me a favour and lend me £5?
▪ ask somebody a favour ( also ask a favour of somebody formal )
I felt nervous about asking Stephen a favour.
▪ owe somebody a favour (=feel that you should do something for someone because they have done something for you)
I owe you a favour for all the help you’ve given me.
▪ return a favour (=do something for someone because they have done something for you)
He helped me in the past and now he wanted me to return the favour.
■ adjectives
▪ a big favour
I’ve got a big favour to ask of you.
▪ a great favour
He acted as though he’d done us a great favour by coming.
▪ a small/little favour
Can you do me a small favour?
▪ a special favour
I agreed to deliver the parcel as a special favour to Paul.
▪ a personal favour (=something you do specially for a particular person)
As a personal favour, he let us use the hall to rehearse.
▪ a political favour
He was accused of granting political favours in return for illegal payments.
■ phrases
▪ as a favour to somebody (=because you want to be kind, not because you have to)
She delivered the parcel as a favour to her sister.
▪ do yourself a favour (=do something good for yourself)
Do yourself a favour and read as many books on the subject as possible.
II. favour 2 W3 BrE AmE British English , favor American English verb [transitive]
1 . PREFER to prefer someone or something to other things or people, especially when there are several to choose from:
Both countries seem to favour the agreement.
loose clothing of the type favoured in Arab countries
favour somebody/something over somebody/something
Florida voters favored Bush over Gore by a very small margin.
2 . GIVE AN ADVANTAGE to treat someone much better than someone else, in a way that is not fair:
a tax cut that favours rich people
favour somebody over somebody
a judicial system that favours men over women
3 . HELP to provide suitable conditions for something to happen:
The current economy does not favour the development of small businesses.
4 . be favoured to do something to be expected to win or be the one that is successful:
Silva is favoured to win a medal in the marathon.
5 . LOOK LIKE old-fashioned to look like one of your parents or grandparents
favour somebody with something phrasal verb formal
to give someone something such as a look or reply:
McIntosh favoured her with a smile.