celebrity
Americannoun
-
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
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.
Steve is a celebrity stylist — don’t call him a hairdresser — who created the “Nicole Richie bob.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
In each market mania, new celebrity stock pickers get anointed, from Ryan Jacob and his Internet Fund during the dot-com era to Cathie Wood and her ARK Innovation ETF during the pandemic rally of 2020.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
Because these celebrity exorcists are imbued with a kind of divine authority in their audiences’ minds by their proximity to supernatural matters, their social media followings can be unusually strong and loyal.
From Slate • Jun. 8, 2026
A Knicks game is as much a celebrity spectacle as it is a basketball event.
From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026
"You're the kid who ran up and down Manhattan and escaped the cops. Don't let all this celebrity stuff go to your head, all right? You're a long way from Hollywood."
From "The Sky at Our Feet" by Nadia Hashimi
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.
