fanny
Americannoun
noun
-
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.
Fanny Behrens who lives in Devon, first approached death doula Sarah Parker, 10 months before her husband died of cancer.
From BBC • May 2, 2026
Hakimi's lawyer Fanny Colin said a trial had been ordered and the prosecutor in the Nanterre suburb of Paris confirmed it.
From Barron's • Feb. 24, 2026
The Sewards’ only surviving daughter, Fanny, was too young to write much during the period Mr. Slaughter covers, and is less sharply defined.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 12, 2026
Fanny Thomas, who is about to turn 80, says she has been walking in the area for her whole life.
From BBC • Oct. 31, 2025
But Aunt Fanny must have been the last straw, so to speak.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
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.
