celebrity

[suh-leb-ri-tee]

noun

plural

celebrities 

1. a famous or well-known person.

2. fame; renown.

   Synonyms: stardom, eminence, note, distinction

celebrity

/ sɪˈlɛbrɪtɪ /

noun

1. a famous person

   a show-business celebrity

2. fame or notoriety

Other Word Forms

• noncelebrity noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of celebrity¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin celebritās multitude, fame, festal celebration, equivalent to celebr- (stem of celeber ) often repeated, famous + -itās -ity

Example Sentences

Easy enough - except our celebrities had to navigate through a fiendish array of red laser beams, all pointing at awkward angles, meaning the most nimble had the easiest time of it.

Read more on BBC

The Coliseum was the place where you “could see ’em” yesterday — from front row celebrities to the farthest Joe Fan — as Los Angeles welcomed its newest “lodger” — El Dodger — in championship style.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“Sunset Boulevard” thinks pretty deeply about celebrity and what it does to a person.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Former California “governator” Arnold Schwarzenegger has returned to the political arena—this time as the celebrity muscle against a Tuesday state ballot measure that would bring back gerrymandering to favor Democrats.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

OpenAI, which faced a fierce blowback in Hollywood last month as images of celebrities and dead newsmakers were manipulated without consent, is now drawing more scrutiny over its practices.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• figure 
• hero 
• luminary 
• personage 
• personality 
• someone 
• star 
• superstar