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• fan
  fan

  noun

  any device for producing a current of air by the movement of a broad surface or a number of such surfaces.
• Fan
  Fan

  noun

  Fang.

fan

¹ American  

[fan] / fæn /

noun

1. any device for producing a current of air by the movement of a broad surface or a number of such surfaces.

2. an implement of feathers, leaves, paper, cloth, etc., often in the shape of a long triangle or of a semicircle, for waving lightly in the hand to create a cooling current of air about a person.

   We sat on the veranda, cooling ourselves with palm-leaf fans.

3. anything resembling such an implement, as the tail of a bird.

4. any of various devices consisting essentially of a series of radiating vanes or blades attached to and revolving with a central hublike portion to produce a current of air.

   ceiling fan; wall fan.

5. a series of revolving blades supplying air for winnowing or cleaning grain.

6. Horology. fly.

7. a semicircular decoration of bunting.

8. Physical Geography. an alluvial fan.

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verb (used with object)

• fans,
  present (3rd person singular)
• fanned,
  past participle,  past
• fanning
  present participle

1. to move or agitate (the air) with or as if with a fan.

2. to cause air to blow upon, as from a fan; cool or refresh with or as if with a fan.

   He fanned his face with a newspaper.

3. to stir to activity with or as if with a fan.

   to fan a flame; to fan emotions.

4. (of a breeze, current of air, etc.) to blow upon, as if driven by a fan.

   A cool breeze fanned the shore.

5. to spread out like a fan.

   The dealer fanned the cards.

6. Informal. to move (oneself ) quickly.

   You'll fan your tail out of here if you know what's good for you.

7. Agriculture. to winnow, especially by an artificial current of air.

8. Baseball. (of a pitcher) to strike out (a batter).

9. Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. to punish by spanking; spank.

   Your mother will fan you good if you break that dish.

verb (used without object)

• fans,
  present (3rd person singular)
• fanned,
  past participle,  past
• fanning
  present participle

1. to strike, swing, or brush lightly at something.

2. Western U.S. (chiefly cowboy use). to slap the flanks of (a horse or other animal) repeatedly with a hat to get it to move or move faster.

3. to spread out like a fan (often followed byout ).

   The forest fire fanned out in all directions.

4. Baseball. (of a batter) to strike out, usually by swinging at and missing the pitch charged as the third strike.

idioms

1. hit the fan, to become suddenly more awkward, embarrassing, or troublesome.

   When news of the incident was leaked to the press, everything hit the fan at once.

fan ² American  

[fan] / fæn /

noun

1. an enthusiastic devotee, follower, or admirer of a sport, pastime, celebrity, etc..

   a baseball fan; a great fan of Charlie Chaplin.

   Synonyms:

   addict, booster, partisan, enthusiast, supporter

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Fan ³ American  

[fan, fahn] / fæn, fɑn /

noun

• Fans,
  plural
• Fan
  plural

1. Fang.

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fan ¹ British  

/ fæn /

noun

1. 1. any device for creating a current of air by movement of a surface or number of surfaces, esp a rotating device consisting of a number of blades attached to a central hub

   2. a machine that rotates such a device

2. any of various hand-agitated devices for cooling onself, esp a collapsible semicircular series of flat segments of paper, ivory, etc

3. something shaped like such a fan, such as the tail of certain birds

4. agriculture

   1. a kind of basket formerly used for winnowing grain

   2. a machine equipped with a fan for winnowing or cleaning grain

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verb

1. to cause a current of air, esp cool air, to blow upon, as by means of a fan

   to fan one's face

2. to agitate or move (air, smoke, etc) with or as if with a fan

3. to make fiercer, more ardent, etc

   fan one's passion

4. to spread out or cause to spread out in the shape of a fan

5. 1. to fire (an automatic gun) continuously by keeping the trigger depressed

   2. to fire (a nonautomatic gun) several times by repeatedly chopping back the hammer with the palm

6. to winnow (grain) by blowing the chaff away from it

fan ² British  

/ fæn /

noun

1. an ardent admirer of a pop star, film actor, football team, etc

2. a devotee of a sport, hobby, etc

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fan More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing fan

• shit will hit the fan

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Usage

Where does fan come from? Is the word fan, as in a device with rotating blades, related in any way to a fan, as in an enthusiastic devotee? Whether in cooling a room or cheering for a team, both fans do move a lot of air, as it were. But no, these senses of fan come from very different—though equally fantastic—roots. Fan, the deviceLet’s start with fan in the sense of “any device for producing a current of air.” This fan is very old, recorded in English before 900. It comes from the Old English, fann, directly from the Latin vannus, a “winnowing basket.”Winnowing basket? This calls for a lesson in agricultural history. A winnowing basket is a type of broad, shallow basket used to winnow, that is, to free grain from lighter particles of chaff, dirt, and the like. This can be done, as shown in the video below, by tossing the grain, allowing the wind or a forced current of air to blow away the chaff and any impurities. A winnowing basket is what fan originally meant in English. The word fan expanded to refer to other kinds of devices used to blow away chaff. By association with the movement of air involved in winnowing, fan further expanded to name various devices for generating currents of air, especially for cooling and ventilation. Fan, the devotee Now, onto to that other fan, the kind that fills arenas for sporting and music events. This fan is “an enthusiastic devotee, follower, or admirer of a sport, pastime, celebrity, or similar.” It was shortened from fanatic, “a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal, as in religion or politics.”A fan is passionate, yes, but compared to a fanatic, the connotation of the word fan is generally much less extreme and uncritical. Fan was first recorded in American English around 1885–90. Early uses of fan refer to baseball die-hards before spreading to all sorts of other ardent followers. Dig deeperThe word fanatic has an interesting origin of its own. Entering English around 1515–25, fanatic derives from the Latin fānāticus, “pertaining to a temple.” Fānāticus came to refer to people seen as “frantic” and “enthusiastic”—people thought to be inspired by a divinity or orgiastic rites. Fānāticus is based on the noun fānum, “temple, sanctuary.” Discover more at profane.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• fanner
  noun
• fanlike
  adjective
• unfanned
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Fan
  plural
• Fans
  plural

Participles

• fanning
  present
• fanned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• fan
  simple
• fans
  simple
• have fanned
  perfect
• has fanned
  perfect
• am fanning
  progressive
• are fanning
  progressive
• is fanning
  progressive
• have been fanning
  perfect progressive
• has been fanning
  perfect progressive

Past

• fanned
  simple
• had fanned
  perfect
• was fanning
  progressive
• were fanning
  progressive
• had been fanning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will fan
  simple
• will have fanned
  perfect
• will be fanning
  progressive
• will have been fanning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of fan¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English fann, from Latin vannus “winnowing basket”

Origin of fan²

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90; short for fanatic

Explanation

A fan cools you by moving the air around you. During the warmest weeks of the summer, it's easier to sleep if you have a fan in your bedroom. Some fans are electric: you plug them in and a large blade turns fast and blows air around the room. Hand fans are small enough to hold, and as you wave them back and forth, they send puffs of air over your hot face. To do this is to fan yourself. A completely different fan is the one who follows a sports team or a rock band devotedly: "The fans jumped to their feet and cheered."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fan Fan Fans fans fanned fanning

Glad to hear the new San Diego Padres owner is a longtime Yankees fan, therefore hating the Dodgers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026

“They were like, ‘He’s not available for any questions,’” recalled Eves, a longtime Apple fan and an Auburn engineering student at the time.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026

A lifelong Parton fan, Hadley chokes up while detailing how she was at work when a friend texted to say the singer had died.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

An alternative explanation some have proposed: Bands prefer a chaotic ticket-selling process because it rewards the most obsessive fan who will spend a fortune on merchandise once inside the show.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

The guy next to me adjusts his overhead fan and gestures at the medicine packet in my fingers.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Chinese state media has attributed Hengli’s accomplishments to Chen and Fan, saying they transformed a small textile factory into the country’s third-largest privately owned company through hard work and business savvy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

A longtime Hengli employee told a state-owned newspaper that Fan, who handled the finances, was so busy that she sometimes skipped meals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

"I think the government could introduce industry-specific regulations targeting flash marriage scams," Fan Binghe from the Nanjing Office of the Beijing Jingshi law firm, told the BBC.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

But what really made Platner appealing to Moraff and Fan didn’t have anything to do with the kind of person he was or what was, or wasn’t, on his résumé.

From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2026

“Ji-li, Uncle Fan groaned when Grandma washed his face.”

From "Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution" by Ji-li Jiang

Fans gathered at the park in recent days to pay tribute to Parton, dropping off flowers, candles and balloons.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026

Fans were also impressed by the detailed locations on show, which included the interiors of apartments, rooftop bars and sleazy underground clubs.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Fans packed into Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday to watch the dream pairing of Williams and Alcaraz, who won their first round match before falling in straight sets to Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

Fans benefit from a Walter partnership on a daily basis.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

Fans brought heaps of flowers, and a woman stepped forward and braided ribbons into Seabiscuit’s mane while he posed for the inevitable photographers.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

He said he felt a huge responsibility to the show's fans to give them a satisfying ending.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

Have you heard from fans who see themselves in Anton and Paul Baker?

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026

But it’s not just longtime fans who are driving the game’s resurgence.

From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026

The killing of Shakur, also known as 2Pac, has been one of America's most celebrated cold cases, prompting endless debate among music fans over who did it and why.

From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026

I encountered a repeat performance of unfamiliar fans cheering me on in front of the medieval, storybook-looking restaurant.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

Those personnel fanned across the archipelago nation, carrying out a wider range of activities than in the past.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

Yet, fires fanned by increasingly extreme weather have stress-tested these measures more than ever before.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

Elsewhere in Europe, thousands of people were evacuated late on Wednesday as fires threatened a tourist resort on the Greek island of Crete and continued to rage on Thursday, fanned by violent winds, authorities said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

Thousands of people have been evacuated on the Greek island of Crete as wildfires fanned by strong winds menace tourist resorts and villages.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

Her black kinky curls fanned around the familiar face like swirling hurricane clouds.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

The images they captured from different viewing angles brought out different features, including brighter and darker streaks fanning out around the crater.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

“They were going around fanning people, handing out barf bags left and right,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

On an overcast Wednesday morning in Salt Lake City this summer, four bicyclists gathered in an industrial area not far from the city’s airport before fanning out across town.

From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026

Social insects including bees rely on cooling behavior for example fanning their wings when things get too hot to buffer the hive but there are limits as to how effective this is in extreme heat.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026

I hold my hands above me, my fingers fanning out in a delicate performance, my palms coming together, warm and smooth.

From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson

Related Words

• admirer
• buff
• devotee
• follower
• lover
• supporter