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 film panders to a very specific section of my dad’s fandom that still lives in the fantasy,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

Thousands of people had reportedly been expected to attend the event, which describes itself as the "home of Australia's pop culture fandom".

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

The joke is that by the time the chorus arrives, the boys are invariably belting out every word, unable to conceal their fandom for another moment.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

If anything, after a few days spent dipping my T. rex hands into the cool primordial sludge of the dinosaur fandom, Panella’s sentiment feels like an understatement.

From Salon • Apr. 12, 2026

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

From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli