fanny
Americannoun
-
fannies
plural
noun
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taboo the female genitals
-
the buttocks
Usage
Despite the theory that this word derives from the name `Fanny', its use in British English is still considered taboo by many people, and is likely to cause offence. In the US the word refers to the buttocks. Serious misunderstanding may therefore arise when what people in Britain know as a `bumbag' is referred to in the US as a `fanny pack'
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of fanny
1925–30; of obscure origin; relation, if any, to British fanny “vulva” (vulgar) is unclear
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.
See Examples For:
Enjoy how costume designer Heidi Bivens has put Johnson in another silver-buckled black leather belt similar to the one in his infamous, much-memed Y2K-era photo, the one with the turtleneck, chain jewelry and fanny pack.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2025
The detour into stunt work in the U.S. and Hong Kong kept his skills sharp, and the Daniels showcased his expertise with the fanny pack fight in "Everything Everywhere All at Once."
From Salon ● Feb. 7, 2025
Ken Jeong is unfrozen into a present day full of miracles: fanny packs, drone delivery, Popeyes’ new chicken wings.
From New York Times ● Feb. 11, 2024
Police found a handgun magazine that belonged to the FBI agent in a fanny pack during a search of the car.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 7, 2024
"You can't make a living from sitting on your fanny and reading story-books. We don't keep them in the house."
From "Matilda" by Roald Dahl
It can be a pain, yes, this defense that Bosa and the rest of the 2021 Chargers hope puts opposing offenses on their fannies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2021
One “small” sponge observed by scientists was festooned with more than 100 crawling worm fannies, sometimes more than 10 to a single opening.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 8, 2021
They worked their fannies off, they really did.
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2018
“They were playing lights-out defense in the second half and we were getting our fannies kicked,” Dale said.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 25, 2017
“Time to get our fannies out of here.”
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
