Astaire

American

[uh-stair] / əˈstɛər /

noun

Fred, 1899–1987, U.S. dancer and actor.

Astaire British

/ əˈstɛə /

noun

Fred, real name Frederick Austerlitz . 1899–1987, US dancer, singer, and actor, whose films include Top Hat (1935), Swing Time (1936), and The Band Wagon (1953)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Hollywood thrived in this tough decade partly by catering to people’s need for fantasy and escapism, through screwball comedies, adventure stories and the elaborate musicals of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 21, 2026

"If there wasn't Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire to watch, there'd be hours of pleasure missing".

From BBC • Dec. 19, 2025

What was contemporary and cutting edge in 1961 seemed, by the mid-’60s, as a pre-World War II Fred Astaire musical.

From Salon • Aug. 9, 2025

While headlining at that hotel’s Cocoanut Grove nightclub, Paige was offered a starring role in the 1957 Fred Astaire musical “Silk Stockings.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2024

In the spring he wears a new straw hat, cocked at a Fred Astaire angle.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023