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 company has expanded its profile in recent years through partnerships with major sports leagues and celebrity endorsements, while identifying the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
The second celebrity version of the show will consist of 10 hour-long episodes.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
Dominic West and Sienna Miller play a celebrity couple going through a heavily litigated, tabloid-fodder separation in this delectably entertaining eight-part series.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Which is to say, Weber and Finger usually spend more time explaining and trading jokes about what each micro-celeb is known for rather than how celebrity itself has evolved.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
Tom Kane understood that great deeds, talents, or discoveries do not create celebrity, media attention does.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
This may explain why he has no problem when white men have beards, as seen on his church leader, Doug Wilson, or the many celebrities the defense secretary likes to take photos with.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
Year: 2020 Compiled by: Heather Schwedel Of note: Yes, all 22 celebrities in That Video are ranked.
From Slate ● Oct. 7, 2026
In the Paramount-Warner fight, movie celebrities were often sources of bad advice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Martha’s Vineyard, long known for attracting celebrities, has become the inevitable butt of memes as it battles the hostile arachnids.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
Farther beyond the tourist shops are newly built condos that no one but celebrities from the States are rich enough to use.
From "Hurricane Child" by Kheryn Callender
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.
