fanfare
Americannoun
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a flourish or short air played on trumpets or the like.
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an ostentatious display or flourish.
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publicity or advertising.
noun
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a flourish or short tune played on brass instruments, used as a military signal, at a ceremonial event, etc
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an ostentatious flourish or display
Etymology
Origin of fanfare
1760–70; < French, expressive word akin to fanfaron fanfaron.
Explanation
Fanfare is a loud, proud burst of something to get attention. If you open up a carpet store with one of those sky-sweeping lights, lots of balloons, and a brass band, you’re doing it with great fanfare. Originally fanfare meant a short burst of music played by trumpeters, usually when someone important entered a room. But these days we describe anything as fanfare that has the same feeling as a burst of trumpets. If you’re a TV executive with a new show you think is going to be a big hit, roll it out with fanfare–—ad campaigns, billboards, celebrity parties!
Vocabulary lists containing fanfare
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Fanfares will be played by The State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry and The Fanfare Trumpeters of the Royal Air Force, the palace said.
From Reuters • Feb. 18, 2023
Attendees at the June 23 birthday gala will have their competitive spirits subconsciously stoked by the most famous of his gleaming brassy pronouncements, the “Olympic Fanfare and Theme.”
From Washington Post • Jun. 17, 2022
Fanfare After the ceremony, the couple was showered in birdseed by Ms. Ladd’s mother, Barbara Rittel; her aunt, Claire Pugatch; her sister, Dr. Lisa Rittel; and her brother, Michael Rittel.
From New York Times • Dec. 31, 2021
In other words, these Big Tech companies are serving up Wikipedia’s free info with the same relentless consistency with which NBC blasts the “Olympic Fanfare and Theme” before commercials.
From Slate • Jul. 26, 2021
The Lion gave his last orders for the ceremony— "Gamble, Grin, Grub, and Carry-on-Merry, sound the Merry Fanfare on your silver trumpets!"
From The Tale of Lal A Fantasy by Paton, Raymond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
