A ghost town is a town where no one lives anymore or where very few people still live, so many of the buildings are empty and derelict (e.g., “It became a ghost town after the coal mine closed in 1981”).
On a related note, it can be difficult to decide whether to call a place a town or city—if it has an airport and a metro system, then “city” is probably the word you’re looking for.
Have you tried Quillbot’s free Paraphraser to help polish your texts?
The phrase fair and square means “in a fair way” or “fairly.” It is often used with the verbs “win” and “beat.”
Fair and square in a sentence examplesThe other team is complaining that we cheated, but we beat them fair and square.
The Cowboys were the better team and won fair and square.
On a related note, it can be tricky knowing if you should spell it fare or fair, as these words are pronounced in the same way. Why not use Quillbot’s free Grammar Checker to help you use homophones like these correctly in your writing?
The correct spelling is that’s not fair because the adjective meaning “reasonable/correct” is spelled “f-a-i-r” (not “f-a-r-e”).
Deciding if the right spelling is fare or fair can be difficult as they are pronounced in the same way. Using Quillbot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to avoid making errors with homophones such as these.
The correct spelling is how did you fare? because the verb meaning “get along” is spelled “f-a-r-e” (not “f-a-i-r”).
Knowing whether to spell it fare or fair can be tricky as they are pronounced in the same way. Using Quillbot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to avoid spelling errors with homophones such as these.
Fair use refers to copyright law. Generally, you are not allowed to use material protected by copyright (e.g., video from a film or text from a book) without permission. However, under American copyright law, you may be allowed to use it without permission for certain purposes if you use it in a reasonable way. This is called “fair use” of the copyright-protected material. For instance, a teacher using a short video clip to illustrate something related to their lesson is likely to be considered fair use.
On a related note, it matters if you spell it fare or fair, as these words have different meanings.
“Shed some light” means “to help explain” or “to clarify.”
“Shed some light on” is a phrasal verb and means the same as “throw some light on” and “cast some light on.” You can also use these phrasal verbs without “some.”
For example:
Her diagnosis shed some light on why she’s been feeling ill lately.
No one could throw some lighton how the phenomenon happened.
The new approach casts light on what went wrong.
A Grammar Check can make sure you use phrases like “shed some light” correctly.
If you’re referring to food that’s lower in calories, fat, or sugar than other alternatives, you can say “lite bites.” “Lite” is used to refer to the diet versions of a food or drink.
You could also say “light bites,” as “light” means “not heavy or dense.”
In this context, the choice is up to you. “Lite” is more often used in marketing and advertising language, while “light” is a more neutral word.
For weight, use “light.” “Light” means “not heavy.” For example, “This box is big but very light.”
“Lite” means the diet version of something (e.g., “lite soda”) or the less complex version of something (e.g., “the lite edition of the software”). It should only be used in informal writing.
The compound nounwebsite is typically written as one word. You can write it as web site (two words), but this is much less common, so it is best to write it as one word in formal writing such as academic writing.
On a related note, it matters if you spell it site or sight, because these two words are homophones with different meanings.
Use Quillbot’s free Grammar Checker to help you avoid mixing up homophones such as “cite,” “site,” and “sight.”
The correct spelling is sightseeing. It means going to the places that tourists like to visit in a particular region or city (e.g., “I didn’t have much time for sightseeing on my business trip to New York”).
Deciding if the correct spelling is site or sight can be tricky because these two words are homophones.
Have you tried Quillbot’s free Grammar Checker? It can help you avoid making errors with homophones such as “sight,” “site,” and “cite” in your writing.
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