fashion
Americannoun
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a prevailing custom or style of dress, etiquette, socializing, etc..
the latest fashion in dresses.
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conventional usage in dress, manners, etc., especially of polite society, or conformity to it.
the dictates of fashion; to be out of fashion.
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manner; way; mode.
in a warlike fashion.
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the make or form of anything.
He liked the fashion of the simple, sturdy furniture.
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a kind; sort.
All fashions of people make up the world.
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Obsolete. workmanship.
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Obsolete. act or process of making.
verb (used with object)
idioms
noun
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style in clothes, cosmetics, behaviour, etc, esp the latest or most admired style
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( as modifier )
a fashion magazine
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(modifier) (esp of accessories) designed to be in the current fashion, but not necessarily to last
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manner of performance; mode; way
in a striking fashion
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( in combination )
crab-fashion
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a way of life that revolves around the activities, dress, interests, etc, that are most fashionable
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shape, appearance, or form
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sort; kind; type
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in some manner, but not very well
I mended it, after a fashion
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of a low order; of a sort
he is a poet, after a fashion
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like; similar to
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of high social standing
verb
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to give a particular form to
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to make suitable or fitting
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obsolete to contrive; manage
Usage
What is a basic definition of fashion? Fashion is a popular style or trend of something, especially clothing. Fashion is also the general conventions of politeness that society conforms to or an attitude or manner. Fashion can also mean to create something. Fashion has several other senses as a noun and a verb. Fashion means a popular trend or a style, especially when it comes to clothing. Real-life examples: Supermodels display the latest fashions of designer clothing on catwalks. Fashion magazines discuss the most popular clothing styles. We often look back with nostalgia (or embarrassment) of popular fashions of clothing, dance, and music of past decades. Used in a sentence: The pop singer only wore clothes that were of the latest fashions. More generally, fashion is used to refer to what society as a whole considers to be acceptable dress, manners, or etiquette. In this sense, something is often said to be “in fashion” or “out of fashion.” In both this and the previous sense, the word fashionable describes something or someone that conforms to popular fashions. Real-life example: The word groovy was once a popular word to mean something was great or excellent. Today, groovy has largely fallen out of fashion. If you use it, you may be considered out of touch with popular slang. Used in a sentence: Ripped jeans came back in fashion after the popular singer started wearing them. Fashion is a manner or attitude. This sense is often written as “in a … fashion.”Used in a sentence: The man walked through the mall in a sloth-like fashion. Fashion also means to create or build something. This sense often implies that you put something together quickly or had to use whatever parts were available. Used in a sentence: The stranded sailor fashioned a fishing rod out of a stick and twine.
Synonym Usage
Fashion, style, vogue imply popularity or widespread acceptance of manners, customs, dress, etc. Fashion is that which characterizes or distinguishes the habits, manners, dress, etc., of a period or group: the fashions of the 18th century. Style is sometimes the equivalent of fashion, but also denotes conformance to a prevalent standard: to be in style; a chair in the Queen Anne style. Vogue suggests the temporary popularity of certain fashions: this year's vogue in popular music.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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antifashionnoun
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fashionernoun
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misfashionnoun
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transfashionnoun
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prefashionverb (used with object)
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refashionverb (used with object)
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fashionlessadjective
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misfashionedadjective
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prefashionedadjective
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unfashionedadjective
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well-fashionedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fashionsimple
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fashionssimple
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have fashionedperfect
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has fashionedperfect
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am fashioningprogressive
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are fashioningprogressive
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is fashioningprogressive
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have been fashioningperfect progressive
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has been fashioningperfect progressive
Past
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fashionedsimple
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had fashionedperfect
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was fashioningprogressive
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were fashioningprogressive
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had been fashioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fashion
First recorded in 1300–1350; Middle English facioun, fasoun “shape, manner,” from Anglo-French faço(u)n, façun, Old French faceon, from Latin factiōn- (stem of factiō ) “a making, company, party.” See faction 1
Explanation
The word fashion has to do with customs and trends. Popular clothes are in fashion. And someone who keeps up with the latest styles is a follower of fashion. The most common use of fashion is to describe the hippest, trendiest clothes and music — we say popular things are in fashion. But this word can also refer to a way something is done, as in "We train dogs in a certain fashion." To fashion something means to build it, as in "We fashioned a shelter out of rocks and mud." But that kind of fashioning probably isn't in fashion these days.
Vocabulary lists containing fashion
Beowulf vocabulary
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Academy Awards, List 5
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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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:
The unraveling of the Situational Awareness hedge fund has inspired comparisons with Long-Term Capital Management, a legendary hedge fund that failed in spectacular fashion in 1998.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
Kojey Radical's third album was inspired by two separate incidents: A fashion week afterparty where he felt like an outsider, and a birthday bash for a close friend that highlighted a rift in their friendship.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
On the other end of the fashion spectrum, Hoffman’s Elliot sports a thrifted work shirt from a trash company.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
Though the fashion house’s revenue rose on year, some analysts pointed to a lack of a convincing rebound in China.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Or maybe Gladys at sixty-two has finally been done for crimes against fashion.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Her boho-style clothing designs can also be seen hanging up in the expansive walk-in closet, which features three separate storage islands, ideal for anyone with a large collection of fashions.
From MarketWatch ● May 26, 2026
What I like about the fashions nowadays is that you can layer anything.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
"It opened up the sport, there's car on track stuff but also personalities, fashions and brands," she says.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026
A short drive away is the Karmel Mall, a cavernous building and local Somali hub, filled with a maze of stalls selling tea, fashions, jewelry and more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
In vain Mrs. Chester alluded to her ‘charming novel’, and the Misses Chester introduced parties, picnics, the opera, and the fashions.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
The customer bought an angel figure, fashioned with tears on her face and arms holding her chest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
With coordination and communication, facilities like cooling centres can be fashioned in other parts of the US not accustomed to the scorching heat, Marlon says.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
These characters are models of consideration, and Ms. Patchett has fashioned a writing style that follows their example.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
Wearing an eye mask fashioned out of a dollar bill with strategic holes cut in it, so as not to trip over Jeff Bezos, Paulson’s look dared to ask: “In this economy?”
From Salon ● May 5, 2026
He left the house before dawn, pushing before him a cart he had fashioned from pieces of plywood and bicycle parts.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
But it is still a big deal: Reeves has not only been chancellor for two years but spent years in opposition fashioning Labour's economic approach.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
At least that’s what Rubino says; she’s putting a special stuffed toy in one basket she’s fashioning, alongside the socks and underwear.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 2, 2026
So after eight years fashioning the office of the presidency, he did something simple and exemplary: He went home.
From Slate ● Feb. 16, 2026
While Fyütch lauded their “whimsical stylist” for fashioning his daughter as “the princess of the Grammys,” Aura V took credit for the color selection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2026
He began by fashioning a homemade starting bell.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
