fad

American  

[fad] / fæd /

noun

1. a temporary fashion, notion, manner of conduct, etc., especially one followed enthusiastically by a group.

   Synonyms:

   rage , vogue , craze

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fad ¹ British  

/ fæd /

noun

1. an intense but short-lived fashion; craze

2. a personal idiosyncrasy or whim

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FAD ² British  

noun

1. biochem flavin adenine dinucleotide: an ester of riboflavin with ADP that acts as the prosthetic group for many flavoproteins See also FMN

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Other Word Forms

• faddish adjective
• faddishness noun
• faddism noun
• faddist noun
• fadlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of fad

1825–35; noun use of dial. fad to look after things, busy oneself with trifles, back formation from obsolete faddle to play with, fondle. See fiddle

Example Sentences

With government having so much power these days, political fads too often capture business leaders who don’t want to risk bad publicity.

From The Wall Street Journal

“I think it’s a fad,” he said, adding that he finds it fun.

From Los Angeles Times

"People aren't going to remember Anthony Joshua for knocking out Jake Paul - George Foreman and Muhammad Ali fought fad events and journeymen, and nobody talks about that anymore."

From BBC

Today, this egalitarian idea is a fad that is going out of style.

From The Wall Street Journal

Most of the exhibited objects are Japanese, indicating the coincidence between Cincinnati’s Gilded Age wealth and japonisme, the late-19th-century Western fad for Japanese culture.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• hobby
• innovation
• mania
• passion
• trend