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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Mysteries of the Ancient Past"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"The New Colossus"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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 documentary portrays Leto as a celebrity who leveraged his fame to connect with young fans and control them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Those cameras have spread his fame far beyond Blighty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The singer rose to fame in 2022 when his song "Romantic Homicide" became a viral sensation on TikTok.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
A product of the Cambridge Footlights, the cradle of so much post-war British comedy, he shot to fame in the 1970s as a member of the anarchic Goodies.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
For example, most operas were written to be popular, middle-class entertainments, and artists such as Liszt and Paganini enjoyed rock-star-like fame and popularity in their day.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
A heavyweight, he won successive Asian Games gold medals in 1966 and 1970 and was among those who established the famed Bhiwani Boxing Club, which would later produce boxers including Olympic medallist Vijender Singh.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Bestselling author and famed election and sports projection-model creator Nate Silver reposted the poll on Friday, writing: “This is what’s wrong with Britain.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
She lived in a one-story house and worked painting pottery at the famed Madoura studio, which attracted Picasso and other French artists.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
The battle over Warner Brothers began last year, when media giants Netflix and Paramount went to war over the famed movie studio and its prized back catalog.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
A professor of rhetoric at Bowdoin College, sometimes professor of “Natural and Revealed Religion,” successor to the chair of the famed Professor Stowe, husband to Harriet Beecher.
From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara
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.
