well-known
Americanadjective
-
clearly or fully known.
The well-known reasons are obvious.
-
generally or widely known.
a well-known painting.
- Synonyms:
- celebrated, noted, famous, prominent
adjective
-
widely known; famous; celebrated
-
known fully or clearly
Etymology
Origin of well-known
late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75
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.
“Country Money,” released in 2021, became one of the band’s most well-known songs with more than 810,000 streams on Spotify, while “Rent Free” has surpassed 664,000 streams.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
But she added: "I think more people would choose to have it if it was a more well-known option."
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
The fossils were uncovered during expeditions in 2023 and 2024 by researchers from the Sallam Lab at Wadi Moghra, a well-known fossil site in northern Egypt.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 1, 2026
But unlike the most well-known version of that character, portrayed by Piper Laurie in Brian DePalma’s 1976 adaptation, Margaret is not a melodramatic, over-the-top, completely irrational zealot.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
The surprising likelihood of coincidence is illustrated by the following well-known result in probability.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.