fandom

American  

[fan-duhm] / ˈfæn dəm /

noun

1. fans collectively, as of a celebrity, a movie, a book, or a professional game or sport.

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Etymology

Origin of fandom

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05; fan ² + -dom

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."

Example Sentences

The company has a record of keeping supply tight and leveraging the fandom of its clients to generate interest in whatever it produces, with regular buyers prioritized in allocations of special-edition vehicles that collectors covet.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026

His Batman fandom is also abundantly clear in the more than two dozen items of Batman-inspired art, furniture and trinkets that are also up for sale.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

This I-95 rivalry is intense, full of civic snobbery and loutish fandom; in other words, perfect.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026

"Social media update accounts have taken what was once quite niche behaviour and made it very public, very mainstream and very intense at scale," says Dr Georgia Carroll, an expert in fandom and fan engagement.

From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026

When I draw, it’s almost always fandom stuff.

From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli