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
-
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
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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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.
Judicial elections are usually sleepy affairs, subject to little political fanfare or interest.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026
With relatively little fanfare, they revaled the voice note, the messaging feature that lets you send a clip of your own voice to friends and family.
From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026
Apple Intelligence, announced with great fanfare, has been delayed repeatedly.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 21, 2026
Sora No Mora: OpenAI is planning to pull the plug on its Sora video platform, a product it released to great fanfare last year that has since fallen from public view.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
A distant fanfare sounded, announcing an arrival at the castle.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
