pair

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pair

1. a male and a female animal of the same species, esp such animals kept for breeding purposes

2. Parliamentary procedure

a. two opposed members who both agree not to vote on a specified motion or for a specific period of time

b. the agreement so made

3. two playing cards of the same rank or denomination

4. Cricket short for a pair of spectacles (see spectacles (sense 2))

5. Logic Maths

a. a set with two members

b. an ordered set with two members

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

pair

[per]

(electricity)

Two like conductors employed to form an electric circuit.

(mechanical engineering)

Two parts in a kinematic mechanism that mutually constrain relative motion; for example, a sliding pair composed of a piston and cylinder.

(science and technology)

A set of two things that are identical or nearly so, or are designed to function as a unit.

pair

To establish a wireless connection. See pairing and Bluetooth pairing.

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References in classic literature ?

Thus it is in the case of those opposites only, which are opposite in the sense in which the term is used with reference to affirmation and negation, that the rule holds good, that one of the pair must be true and the other false.

(i) Pairs of opposites which fall under the category of relation are explained by a reference of the one to the other, the reference being indicated by the preposition 'of' or by some other preposition.

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At its conclusion, the little man took a pinch of snuff from an oblong silver box, and was apparently on the point of renewing the conversation, when one of the plump gentlemen, who in addition to a benevolent countenance, possessed a pair of spectacles, and a pair of black gaiters, interfered--

'There's a vooden leg in number six; there's a pair of Hessians in thirteen; there's two pair of halves in the commercial; there's these here painted tops in the snuggery inside the bar; and five more tops in the coffee-room.'

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This, to the busy pair, was the happiest period of their lives.

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Suddenly a distant sound of rapidly advancing wheels was heard, and almost immediately a carriage appeared, drawn by a pair of wild, ungovernable horses, while the terrified coachman strove in vain to restrain their furious speed.

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And the bridal pair tried several times to understand what they had to do, and each time made some mistake and were corrected by the priest in a whisper.

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"Ha, by my life, master mine," said Sancho, "it's not I that am stringing proverbs now, for they drop in pairs from your worship's mouth faster than from mine; only there is this difference between mine and yours, that yours are well-timed and mine are untimely; but anyhow, they are all proverbs."

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In the garden there was not a weed to be seen, and to judge from some dapper gardening-tools, a basket, and a pair of gloves which were lying in one of the walks, old Mr Garland had been at work in it that very morning.

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'Are you a child or a teetotum?' the Sheep said, as she took up another pair of needles.

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But it was of funereal black cloth, and although relieved at one extremity by a pair of high riding boots, in which his too short trousers were tucked, and at the other by a tall white hat, and cravat of aggressive yellow, the effect was depressing.

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Just the same, he's better stock than that tough crowd you run with, if he can't make a livin' an' keep his wife in three pairs of shoes.