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• fellow
  fellow

  noun

  a man or boy.
• Fellow
  Fellow

  noun

  a member of any of various learned societies

fellow

American  

[fel-oh] / ˈfɛl oʊ /

noun

• fellows
  plural

1. a man or boy.

   a fine old fellow; a nice little fellow.

2. Informal. beau; suitor.

   Mary had her fellow over to meet her folks.

3. Informal. person; one.

   They don't treat a fellow very well here.

4. a person of small worth or no esteem.

5. a companion; comrade; associate.

   They have been fellows since childhood.

6. a person belonging to the same rank or class; equal; peer.

   The doctor conferred with his fellows.

7. one of a pair; mate; match.

   a shoe without its fellow.

8. Education.

   1. a graduate student of a university or college to whom an allowance is granted for special study.

   2. British. an incorporated member of a college, entitled to certain privileges.

   3. a member of the corporation or board of trustees of certain universities or colleges.

9. a member of any of certain learned societies.

   a fellow of the British Academy.

10. Obsolete. a partner.

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verb (used with object)

1. to make or represent as equal with another.

2. Archaic. to produce a fellow to; match.

adjective

1. belonging to the same class or group; united by the same occupation, interests, etc.; being in the same condition.

   fellow students; fellow sufferers.

fellow ¹ British  

/ ˈfɛləʊ /

noun

1. a man or boy

2. an informal word for boyfriend

3. informal one or oneself

   a fellow has to eat

4. a person considered to be of little importance or worth

5. 1. (often plural) a companion; comrade; associate

   2. ( as modifier )

      fellow travellers

6. (at Oxford and Cambridge universities) a member of the governing body of a college, who is usually a member of the teaching staff

7. a member of the governing body or established teaching staff at any of various universities or colleges

8. a postgraduate student employed, esp for a fixed period, to undertake research and, often, to do some teaching

9. 1. a person in the same group, class, or condition

      the surgeon asked his fellows

   2. ( as modifier )

      fellow students

      a fellow sufferer

10. one of a pair; counterpart; mate

    looking for the glove's fellow

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Fellow ² British  

/ ˈfɛləʊ /

noun

1. a member of any of various learned societies

   Fellow of the British Academy

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fellow Idioms  

1. see regular guy (fellow); strange bedfellows.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• fellows
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of fellow

before 1050; Middle English felowe, felawe, late Old English fēolaga < Old Norse fēlagi partner in a joint undertaking, equivalent to fē money, property (cognate with Old English feoh, German Vieh ) + -lagi bedfellow, comrade; akin to lair ¹, lie ²

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Explanation

Fellow is an old fashioned word for “guy.” If you’re wearing a top hat, you may address someone as “my good fellow.” It’s also a non-stuffy word to describe people in the same situation, such as you and your fellow Vocabulary.com fans. Other words for fellow include "chap" and "dude." A fellow can also be someone’s boyfriend, as in “Is he your fellow?” an interested suitor might ask. Another kind of fellow is an academic who's either reached a high position or won a prestigious scholarship. A MacArthur Fellow, for example, is a person who won a MacArthur fellowship (a well-deserved hunk of money). Fellow comes from an Old English word, feolaga, "one who shares with another."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fellow Fellow fellows

His concerns were echoed by fellow retiree Tom Carmody, who questioned both the eventual cost of the revamped course and whether the project would be completed.

From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026

Campbell, the Florida nurse who was strangled, voted with fellow nurses last year to unionize over issues including safety and what they say is patient overcrowding.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

Young people in Albania feel encouraged by their fellow Gen Z protesters around the world, Vatnikaj said.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

“Shoot all he has to really do is stop by and say ‘yes,’” Kao wrote to a Navatek lobbyist and a fellow executive the day before, in an email seen by ProPublica.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026

As if a rich fellow never gets the toothache or misses his mum!”

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

Lead author Dr. Lili Alderson, a Klarman Postdoctoral Fellow at Cornell University, began the research while studying at the University of Bristol, where she earned her doctorate in physics.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

Fellow sportswear giant Nike supplies three, as well as England.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Fellow stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon issued a statement at the time, praising the women for coming forward and made it clear that they supported them.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

Fellow big screen charmer Richard E. Grant, 69, who starred in films such as Withnail and I, may also leave some of the less well-known celebrities star-struck at first, as might American-British supermodel/actress Jerry Hall.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

They are sarcastic, my lot, calling a runty little chap like me Big Fellow, but there you are.

From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman

Boston and Denver—districts where Google fellows have been leaders—promoted Gemini access for teenagers last school year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Other Pitt authors include doctoral students Alexander K. Kunisky and Jude Baroudi, post-baccalaureate research fellows Sahar and Sahel Ghorbanikalateh, and visiting scholar Shihan Wang.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026

Rep. Nancy Pelosi will launch a multimillion-dollar politics institute at UC Berkeley when she leaves office, co-teaching a course on Congress and hosting visiting fellows from across the political spectrum.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026

He is an internationally recognized expert in heart-rhythm disorders, has helped develop innovative therapies for cardiac arrhythmias, and has authored over 450 scientific publications and trained hundreds of cardiology fellows.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026

Ged’s fellows said little to one another, and less to him.

From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin

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Related Words

• boy
• chap
• dude
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