Fannie Mae

American  

Or Fanny Mae

noun

1. Federal National Mortgage Association.

2. any of the publicly traded securities collateralized by a pool of mortgages backed by the Federal National Mortgage Association.

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Fannie Mae British  

/ ˈfænɪ meɪ /

noun

1. (in the US)an informal name for the Federal National Mortgage Association, a private company that buys and sells mortgage debt

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Etymology

Origin of Fannie Mae

Altered from FNMA, the association's initials

Compare meaning

How does fannie-mae compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Ginnie Mae vs. Fannie Mae

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Fannie Mae

At the precipice of the financial crisis, the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, with their implicit government guarantee and imprimatur, either securitized or guaranteed roughly half of all mortgages in the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

The cost of a jumbo loan might be expected to be higher because Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac don’t guarantee them, and they pose a higher risk to lenders.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

And JPMorgan is among the banks fighting for a role to lead what could be a giant stock offering for the federal mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

This company and Fannie Mae together have purchased and securitized about 70% of current U.S. mortgages, according to AmeriSave’s estimate.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026

Then came the collapse of the government-sponsored entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both promptly nationalized.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis