fan
noun
any device for producing a current of air by the movement of a broad surface or a number of such surfaces.
fan
1 American
[fan]
/ fæn /
noun
-
any device for producing a current of air by the movement of a broad surface or a number of such surfaces.
-
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.
-
anything resembling such an implement, as the tail of a bird.
-
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.
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a series of revolving blades supplying air for winnowing or cleaning grain.
-
Horology. fly.
-
a semicircular decoration of bunting.
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Physical Geography. an alluvial fan.
verb (used with object)
-
fans,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fanned,
past participle, past
-
fanning
present participle
-
to move or agitate (the air) with or as if with a fan.
-
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.
-
to stir to activity with or as if with a fan.
to fan a flame; to fan emotions.
-
(of a breeze, current of air, etc.) to blow upon, as if driven by a fan.
A cool breeze fanned the shore.
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to spread out like a fan.
The dealer fanned the cards.
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Informal. to move (oneself ) quickly.
You'll fan your tail out of here if you know what's good for you.
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Agriculture. to winnow, especially by an artificial current of air.
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Baseball. (of a pitcher) to strike out (a batter).
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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
-
to strike, swing, or brush lightly at something.
-
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.
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to spread out like a fan (often followed byout ).
The forest fire fanned out in all directions.
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Baseball. (of a batter) to strike out, usually by swinging at and missing the pitch charged as the third strike.
idioms
fan
2
American
[fan]
/ fæn /
noun
Fan
3
American
[fan, fahn]
/ fæn, fɑn /
noun
-
Fans,
plural
-
Fan
plural
fan
1
British
/ fæn /
noun
-
-
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
-
a machine that rotates such a device
-
-
any of various hand-agitated devices for cooling onself, esp a collapsible semicircular series of flat segments of paper, ivory, etc
-
something shaped like such a fan, such as the tail of certain birds
-
agriculture
-
a kind of basket formerly used for winnowing grain
-
a machine equipped with a fan for winnowing or cleaning grain
-
verb
-
to cause a current of air, esp cool air, to blow upon, as by means of a fan
to fan one's face
-
to agitate or move (air, smoke, etc) with or as if with a fan
-
to make fiercer, more ardent, etc
fan one's passion
-
to spread out or cause to spread out in the shape of a fan
-
-
to fire (an automatic gun) continuously by keeping the trigger depressed
-
to fire (a nonautomatic gun) several times by repeatedly chopping back the hammer with the palm
-
-
to winnow (grain) by blowing the chaff away from it
fan
2
British
/ fæn /
noun
-
an ardent admirer of a pop star, film actor, football team, etc
-
a devotee of a sport, hobby, etc
fan
More Idioms
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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
fansimple
-
fanssimple
-
have fannedperfect
-
has fannedperfect
-
am fanningprogressive
-
are fanningprogressive
-
is fanningprogressive
-
have been fanningperfect progressive
-
has been fanningperfect progressive
Past
-
fannedsimple
-
had fannedperfect
-
was fanningprogressive
-
were fanningprogressive
-
had been fanningperfect progressive
Future
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."
Vocabulary lists containing fan
"Play Ball!"
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"Analysis of Baseball" and "Singing and Stretching"
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Comic Book Day
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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.
See Examples For:
"You feel a loyalty to your lineage," said Kansas fan Hannah, who added that college football fans are not just fanatical but "rabid".
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
The immersive show explores horror tropes through themed galleries that explore cinema classics including “Alien,” “Halloween,” “The Exorcist” and “The Shining,” as well as more recent fan favorites such as “Midsommar” and “Get Out.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Take a scroll through Instagram and TikTok, and you’ll see fan edit-style videos of Ossoff at campaign rallies and in Senate hearings.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
But another fan named Patti Ann told the BBC that Sheeran was in a "no-win situation".
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
Marina also worked at answering her steady stream of fan mail.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
He positioned himself as Fan No. 1 for a team still overshadowed by Showtime in Lakerland.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Open’s Fan Week last Thursday night to see the “Stars of the Open” matches before the tournament officially kicked off Sunday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
It has been more marked at the Fan Fest in the city, with the of City of Miami reporting 79 heat-related calls in one day on 23 June.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 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
The wind from the mountains around Shiraz kept a light breeze spinning through the Apadana, quieter and more subtle than the Dancing Fan could ever hope to be.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
Fans, tired of hearing about “new” features they’ve been using for years, are spreading conspiracy theories about the new phone and chiding potential defectors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Fans who were unable to snag tickets to one of the highly anticipated shows have not been left out entirely - events honouring Dion's comeback have dominated Paris in recent weeks.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Fans were already aware that a second leg of Styles' tour was on the way, after the 32-year-old posted a note on Wednesday teasing what he called the "final" shows of the hugely-successful run.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Fans of Rosales’ art and archival Instagram accounts will be pleased to find that her rasquache sensibility is present from glossy cover to glossy cover.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Fans scurried all over the unloading platform as Seabiscuit arrived at Santa Anita.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Crucially, taking the fight to America would have deprived domestic fans of a generational spectacle.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Plus, fading voter enthusiasm worries Republicans, and Ed Sheeran apologizes to his fans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
Somehow, after just two games, the Chargers’ offense under McDaniel has Bolts fans wishing anyone else was running the show.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
The vast majority of Southampton fans that BBC Sport spoke to also seem to fully back the manager, something he says "means everything" to him.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Screeching and leaping, the fans at Mr. P’s gave a good imitation of monkeys stung by a swarm of bees.
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
Tuesday’s scene was a mixture of confusion and chaos, with first responders fanned out across two catastrophes and television news teams desperately trying to find out whether their journalists were safe.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
That has fanned speculation the Federal Reserve and other central banks will have to hike interest rates to tame prices -- US diesel is already at a record of almost $6 a gallon.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
To sell his plan, Blume fanned out last week to Volkswagen locations on a tour more akin to a political campaign than a corporate roadshow.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
While the company and authorities have defended the technology for helping fight crime, reports of misuse have only fanned the flame this summer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
I picked up my cards and fanned them out in my palm, grouping the queens together and ordering a run of hearts.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
And more worryingly, retail diesel prices remain at a record high around $5.90 a gallon, fanning concerns about inflation as global financial markets are under strain from a bond selloff and U.S. dollar weakness.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
“They were going around fanning people, handing out barf bags left and right,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Oil prices extended hefty gains Tuesday as hopes for a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz fade, fanning fresh inflation fears and ramping up bets on at least one US interest rate hike this year.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 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
She swings her trunk across the ground in front of her, fanning her ears like enormous leaves.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
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.
