fandom
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of fandom
Explanation
Use the word fandom to talk about the community of people who admire a particular celebrity, hero, sports team, or TV show. If you are president of the Boston Red Sox fan club, you're part of the team's fandom. Your favorite boy band might have a fandom that consists mainly of screaming pre-teens, while National Public Radio's fandom is probably mostly middle aged. If you are a fan of a singer or a series of comic books, you can say you belong to their fandom. The word has been around since the very early twentieth century, from fan, a baseball slang abbreviation of fanatic, which comes from the Latin fanaticus, "mad, or inspired by a god."
Vocabulary lists containing fandom
A Hero's Guide to Summer Vacation
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-dom and -hood
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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.
At the Times Square location at noon on a steaming Wednesday in August, I got a taste of just how intense the fandom has become.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
It can be more common in countries or regions that do not boast a strong league, with geography no barrier to second-club fandom.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Mr. Bockino nods at the risks of addiction and corruption, but he all but ignores the threat to the experience of fandom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
BTS’s lawsuit angered some devotees, who say unofficial merch is an essential part of their fandom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
“Well, it’s all fandom stuff. I don’t make money off of it.”
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
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.
