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
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!
-dom and -hood
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!
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.
Stitch, in particular, was the 11th most popular Disney character on Fandom in the last year, and the 21st most popular character over the last five years, the company said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2025
Clubs were awarded points - and a grade - based on five categories: Fandom, performance, finances, stadium and community, with a maximum of 20 points on offer.
From BBC • Oct. 23, 2024
She is the author of “Nerd: Adventures in Fandom From This Universe to the Multiverse” and the poetry collection “Erou.”
From New York Times • Aug. 2, 2023
On the "Only Murders" Fandom Wiki page for Oliver, the space under "relationships" is completely blank.
From Salon • Jan. 22, 2023
Fandom has a related proverb to the effect that "Hacking is a conversational black hole!"
From The Jargon File, Version 4.2.2, 20 Aug 2000 by Steele, Guy L.
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.
