play fair

play fair (third-person singular simple present plays fair, present participle playing fair, simple past and past participle played fair)

1. To behave equitably and honestly.

   Coordinate term: play dirty

   Police interrogators don't have to play fair: they are allowed to lie to or coerce a witness.

• fair play

• play it straight
• play by the rules
• play the game

• “play fair”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “play fair”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “play fair”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “play fair”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “play fair”, in Collins English Dictionary.

• Fairplay, fair play