celebrity
Americannoun
-
celebrities
plural
-
a famous or well-known person.
-
fame; renown.
- Synonyms:
- stardom, eminence, note, distinction
noun
-
a famous person
a show-business celebrity
-
fame or notoriety
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of celebrity
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin celebritās multitude, fame, festal celebration, equivalent to celebr- (stem of celeber ) often repeated, famous + -itās -ity
Explanation
A celebrity is a very famous person. If you single-handedly save an entire family from a burning building, you'll become a local celebrity. Celebrity comes directly from the Latin celebritatum, meaning famous, and is related to the verb celebrate which means to honor something with the proper ritual. We usually use celebrity now when we talk about entertainment stars, but someone doesn't have to be on the supermarket tabloids to be a celebrity. Celebrity can also be used to mean the state of fame. If you are seeking celebrity, develop a thick skin for nasty rumors.
Vocabulary lists containing celebrity
And the Oscar Goes to... Award-worthy Words
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Academy Awards, List 5
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Lesson 5
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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.
See Examples For:
“The likely buyer for this home is a highly private creative—think celebrity, founder, or high-profile all-cash purchaser seeking true seclusion without leaving Los Angeles,” Moore said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
Unlike Wimbledon’s manicured restraint or the French Open’s Parisian chic, New York has long offered something more unruly, with night tennis, celebrity, noise and spectators willing to make themselves part of the show.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
In recent years, the company has signed high-profile deals with sports leagues and celebrity ambassadors, and it cited the Defense Department as a key revenue generator.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
The media were trying "to make her a celebrity," fumed Friedan, "but no one should mistake her for a leader."
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
Any moment now, Styx would launch into some outlandish tale that could not possibly be true, unless he was some kind of celebrity.
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
The A-list couple joined a long line of celebrities who have wed in New York City, where Swift has owned property for more than a decade.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026
His department has suspended the licences of several quick-commerce warehouses and sent notices to Bollywood celebrities for doing advertisements suspected of indirectly promoting restricted products.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Guillermo del Toro, Rosie O’Donnell, Luke Evans and Patton Oswalt were also among the celebrities paying tribute.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
We’ve watched celebrities undertake this shape-shifting toward pillowy lips, smooth foreheads, high cheekbones.
From Slate ● Sep. 2, 2026
But celebrities actually have a weak effect on baby names.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
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.
