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.
Related Words
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
- antifashion noun
- fashioner noun
- fashionless adjective
- misfashion noun
- misfashioned adjective
- prefashion verb (used with object)
- prefashioned adjective
- refashion verb (used with object)
- transfashion noun
- unfashioned adjective
- well-fashioned adjective
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.
They may well have lost the title race in the most dramatic fashion, but as one fan said as he left the stand: "The season's not over."
From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026
Other analysts have remarked on Lululemon’s lack of fashion cohesion.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 25, 2026
Some sustainable fashion experts advocate for the reduction of clothing production, and recommend that consumers buy less or secondhand.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
The global fashion industry's use of fur has been on the outs for decades.
From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026
His last discernible words, uttered to the physician and family gathered around the bedside, indicated he was hoping to time his exit in dramatic fashion: “Is it the Fourth?”
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
