favour

Universal Words (BrE) (AmE favor) noun, verb noun help 1 [C] a thing that you do to help sb: Could you do me a favour and pick up Sam from school today? * Can I ask a favour? * I would never ask for any favours from her. * I'm going as a favour to Ann, not because I want to. * I'll ask Steve to take it. He owes me a favour. * Thanks for helping me out. I'll return the favour (= help you because you have helped me) some time. * Do yourself a favour (= help yourself) and wear a helmet on the bike. approval 2 [U] approval or support for sb/sth: The suggestion to close the road has found favour with (= been supported by) local people. * The programme has lost favour with viewers recently. * an athlete who fell from favour after a drugs scandal * (formal) The government looks with favour upon (= approves of) the report's recommendations. * She's not in favour with (= supported or liked by) the media just now. * It seems Tim is back in favour with the boss (= the boss likes him again). better treatment 3 [U] treatment that is generous to one person or group in a way that seems unfair to others: As an examiner, she showed no favour to any candidate. party gift 4 (favors) [pl.] (AmE) = PARTYFAVORS sex 5 (favours) [pl.] (old-fashioned) agreement to have sex with sb: demands for sexual favours IDIOMS do sb no favours to do sth that is not helpful to sb or that gives a bad impression of them: You're not doing yourself any favours, working for nothing. * The orchestra did Beethoven no favours. Do me a favour! (spoken) used in reply to a question that you think is silly: 'Do you think they'll win?' 'Do me a favour! They haven't got a single decent player.' in favour (of sb/sth) 1 if you are in favour of sb/sth, you support and agree with them/it: He argued in favour of a strike. * There were 247 votes in favour (of the motion) and 152 against. * I'm all in favour of (= completely support) equal pay for equal work. * Most of the 'don't knows' in the opinion polls came down in favour of (= eventually chose to support) the Democrats. 2 if you replace one thing in favour of another, you think the second thing is better or you want it more: He abandoned teaching in favour of a career as a musician. in sb's favour 1 if sth is in sb's favour, it gives them an advantage or helps them: The exchange rate is in our favour at the moment. * She was willing to bend the rules in Mary's favour. 2 a decision or judgement that is in sb's favour benefits that person or says that they were right: The court decided in Ms Smith's favour and she received compensation for unfair dismissal. moreatCURRYv., FEARn., STACKED verb prefer 1 to prefer one system, plan, way of doing sth, etc. to another: [VN] Many countries favour a presidential system of government. * It's a resort favoured by families with young children. [also V-ing, VN-ing] treat better 2 [VN] to treat sb better than you treat other people, especially in an unfair way: The treaty seems to favour the US. * My parents always favoured my older brother. help 3 [VN] to provide suitable conditions for a particular person, group, etc: The warm climate favours many types of tropical plants. look like parent 4 [VN] (old-fashioned or AmE) to look like one of your parents or older relations: She definitely favours her father.