fanfic

American

[fan-fik] / ˈfænˌfɪk /

noun

Informal.

fiction written by fans of a TV series, movie, etc., using existing characters and situations to develop new plots.
a work of fiction in this genre.

fanfic British

/ ˈfænˌfɪk /

noun

fiction written around previously established characters invented by other authors

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of fanfic

First recorded in 1975–80; shortening of fan fiction ( def. )

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.

“It’s really bad fanfic author behavior. All these people gave me lovely feedback, and I enjoyed it, and then I just took it away like a jerk to make money.”

From Salon • Dec. 6, 2025

Like Lara Jean Song Covey, the teen heroine of her 2014 novel “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” she liked baking and books and penning fanfic of herself and her friends.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 6, 2023

“He seemed to be asking ‘why’ of my existence,” the narrator thinks when Moon reads aloud the first letter in the elaborate fanfic she’s written for him.

From New York Times • Mar. 14, 2023

Nowadays, writers and readers of fanfic are happy to appear in TikTok videos speaking openly about their work and their recommendations.

From The Verge • Aug. 15, 2022

I pull up some random fanfic on my phone, and then I take it down the hall.

From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023