''au pair'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260915190735-00-⌔

au pair - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

Adverb

au pair (not comparable)

• On a working basis by which work done by one party is rewarded by benefits (especially board and lodging) rather than by monetary remuneration. [from 19th c.]
  • ✤ Several thousand girls now come over from the continent to live for six months au pair with British families to learn English—and to perform ‘light domestic duties’.¹
  • ✤ ‘I shall try to get a position au pair to pay my expenses.’²

Noun

au pair (plural au pairs)

• (now rare) An au pair working arrangement (see Adverb). [from 19th c.]
• A person (especially a young woman) working in such a way; now specifically, a foreign worker who helps a host family with childcare, housework, or both while staying as a guest with a host family, and generally receives a small allowance (or pocket money). [from 20th c.]
  • ✤ H-2B visas are for unskilled seasonal workers, including landscapers, forestry workers and summer resort workers, while J-1s are for exchange visitors who come for short stays, typically for summer work, brief internships or to be au pairs.³

Etymology

Borrowed from French au pair.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /əʊ ˈpɛə/
• (General American) IPA: /oʊ ˈpɛ(ə)ɹ/
• Audio (US): 🔊

Printed 2026-09-15.

(echo:: @ ⌗)

Footnotes

1. 1958 March 29, The Economist: ↩

2. 1973, Christina Stead, The Little Hotel, Text Classics, published 2016, page 84: ↩

3. 2020 June 26, Susan Cohen and Jennifer Hunt, “By blocking visas for foreign workers, Trump is further hurting the US economy”, in CNN ‎${}^{[1]}$: ↩