fame
Americannoun
-
widespread reputation, especially of a favorable character; renown; public eminence.
to seek fame as an opera singer.
-
common estimation or opinion generally held of a person or thing; reputation.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
the state of being widely known or recognized; renown; celebrity
-
archaic rumour or public report
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fame
1175–1225; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French < Latin fāma talk, public opinion, repute, akin to fārī to speak
Explanation
Fame is what you have if you're a celebrity: a lot of people know who you are. A musician's fame might mean she wears sunglasses and a baseball cap to disguise herself when she's in public. Movie stars, rock stars, well-known public figures — these are all people who have achieved some amount of fame. You may have a kind of fame in a much smaller sphere: "She won every spelling bee in the state, which gave her some fame at her school." Fame is an Old French word that means "reputation or renown," from the Latin fama, "rumor, reputation, or renown," and also "ill-fame" or "scandal."
Vocabulary lists containing fame
Academy Awards, List 5
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"Mysteries of the Ancient Past"
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"The New Colossus"
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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:
She later rose to fame playing Claire Bennet in the popular sci-fi series Heroes, which ran from 2006 to 2010.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Those officials are afraid that they won’t get their 15 minutes of fame when financial television hosts can no longer elicit their latest pearls of wisdom about the economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
She achieved international fame that decade with the release of her "Total Eclipse" mega-hit, which topped the charts in the United States and Britain.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
The newcomer was KD1, a 4½-year-old eagle who has since become a repeat visitor to the aerie that’s livestreamed around the clock, earning its inhabitants worldwide internet fame.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
His parents had been proud, his coven—Frog House—had risen in fame, and now, by just about every estimation, he was probably dead.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
As the network’s famed college basketball commentator Dick Vitale would say, “That’s awesome, baby!”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
In 2024, Kushner and Kloss purchased the iconic midcentury modern home in Malibu known as the “Wave House,” designed by famed architect Harry Gesner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Perched on a hilltop, the original estate was built in 1953 by the famed architect Richard Neutra for his secretary, Dorothy Serulnic.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
The classical musician has performed for the royal family, popes and many US presidents, and is famed for hits such as Time To Say Goodbye and The Prayer.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Her daughter, Tanya, was a girl to be proud of, a ballet student at the famed Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
In the 1930s, drought and bad faming methods destroyed 100 million acres of farmland around Oklahoma and forced families to leave, many for California.
From Time ● Apr. 10, 2015
In Strype's edition, 1720, he says, concerning this gate, "Leaving out the fable thereof faming it to be builded by King Belin, a Briton, long before the incarnation of Christ."
From Notes and Queries, Number 11, January 12, 1850 by Various
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.
