fanfare
Americannoun
-
fanfares
plural
-
a flourish or short air played on trumpets or the like.
-
an ostentatious display or flourish.
-
publicity or advertising.
noun
-
a flourish or short tune played on brass instruments, used as a military signal, at a ceremonial event, etc
-
an ostentatious flourish or display
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of fanfare
1760–70; < French, expressive word akin to fanfaron fanfaron.
Explanation
Fanfare is a loud, proud burst of something to get attention. If you open up a carpet store with one of those sky-sweeping lights, lots of balloons, and a brass band, you’re doing it with great fanfare. Originally fanfare meant a short burst of music played by trumpeters, usually when someone important entered a room. But these days we describe anything as fanfare that has the same feeling as a burst of trumpets. If you’re a TV executive with a new show you think is going to be a big hit, roll it out with fanfare–—ad campaigns, billboards, celebrity parties!
Vocabulary lists containing fanfare
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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!
Fences
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!
Born a Crime
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Expect lots of fanfare over the sale, for the first time in the UK, of plug-in solar panels.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
When the club announced Mourinho’s return in June, it was without fanfare, in a 54-word comunicado oficial.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Life begins as a fanfare — a regal entry heralded by brass — and ends as a solo cello lament and the serene acceptance of death as sung by a choir.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
A revealing dispatch from across the pond: Kim Kardashian’s underwear empire has expanded to the U.K., to much fanfare.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
When all Jungvolk and Jungmädel had recited the oath, the trumpets blared a fanfare, and a military band burst out in National Socialist songs.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
For Bruckner, rising melodic scales, humongous fanfares with trumpets and horns and Wagner tubas galore and repeated patterns over and over by an unstoppable orchestra serve as injections of musical endorphins.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2025
The state banquet is the spectacular showstopper of a state visit, a glittering feast with speeches, royal toasts, trumpet fanfares and fancy food and wine.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2025
Some blocos are powered by behemoth sound trucks known as electric trios, others by small fanfares.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 12, 2024
During all this, there are synthesizer fanfares befitting a vintage video game, along with some drums and low bleats for drive and the occasional unsettling addition of high-pitched noises.
From New York Times ● May 8, 2023
Horns blew fanfares as Lionstar and Lady Lyanna pushed out from shore, moving downriver to clear the way for Seaswift.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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.
