feature

American  

[fee-cher] / ˈfi tʃər /

noun

• features
  plural

1. a prominent or conspicuous part or characteristic.

   Tall buildings were a new feature on the skyline.

2. something offered as a special attraction.

   This model has several added features.

3. Also called feature film.  the main motion picture in a movie program.

   What time is the feature?

4. any part of the face, as the nose, chin, or eyes.

   prominent features.

5. features, the face; countenance.

   to compose one's features for the photographers.

6. the form or cast of the face.

   delicate of feature.

7. a column, cartoon, etc., appearing regularly in a newspaper or magazine.

8. feature story.

9. Archaic. make, form, or shape.

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verb (used with object)

• features,
  present (3rd person singular)
• featured,
  past participle,  past
• featuring
  present participle

1. to be a feature or distinctive mark of.

   It was industrial expansion that featured the last century.

2. to make a feature of; give prominence to.

   to feature a story or picture in a newspaper.

3. to delineate the main characteristics of; depict; outline.

4. Informal. to conceive of; imagine; fancy.

   He couldn't quite feature himself as a bank president.

5. Older Use. to resemble in features; favor.

verb (used without object)

• features,
  present (3rd person singular)
• featured,
  past participle,  past
• featuring
  present participle

1. to play a major part.

feature British  

/ ˈfiːtʃə /

noun

1. any one of the parts of the face, such as the nose, chin, or mouth

2. a prominent or distinctive part or aspect, as of a landscape, building, book, etc

3. the principal film in a programme at a cinema

4. an item or article appearing regularly in a newspaper, magazine, etc

   a gardening feature

5. Also called: feature story.  a prominent story in a newspaper, etc

   a feature on prison reform

6. a programme given special prominence on radio or television as indicated by attendant publicity

7. an article offered for sale as a special attraction, as in a large retail establishment

8. archaic general form or make-up

9. linguistics a quality of a linguistic unit at some level of description

   grammatical feature

   semantic feature

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verb

1. (tr) to have as a feature or make a feature of

2. to give prominence to (an actor, famous event, etc) in a film or (of an actor, etc) to have prominence in a film

3. informal (tr) to imagine; consider

   I can't feature that happening

Usage

What is a basic definition of feature? A feature is a distinctive trait or a special attraction. Feature can also mean to give special attention to something. The word feature has several other senses as a noun and a verb. A feature is a unique quality or characteristic that something has.

• Real-life examples: Elaborately colored tail feathers are peacocks’ most well-known feature. Earth has many features, such as a particular atmosphere, abundance of water, and temperature that make it able to sustain life. Platypuses have many features that are unusual in mammals, such as a bill and the ability to lay eggs.
• Used in a sentence: My house is really boring and doesn’t have any cool features that set it apart from every other house in the neighborhood. 

Feature can also mean a special attraction or enticing quality that something has. Not all features are necessarily useful and, especially in advertising, they are often added to amaze rather than perform a useful function.

• Real-life examples: Smartphones often have many features, such as Bluetooth technology, a camera, and many other additions that entice customers to buy it. People who buy cars are often interested in extra features, such as rear-view cameras, automated steering, and heated seats.
• Used in a sentence: I always go for cameras with lots of neat features, like custom white balancing.

As a verb, feature means to draw special attention to something or to shine the spotlight on it. If something is featured, it is mentioned first, given the most time, advertised most heavily, or invested the most effort into.

• Real-life examples: Movie advertising often features a big star on posters and in commercials even if the person is barely in the movie. The main event fight is usually featured by boxing or mixed martial arts promoters because it will attract the most ticket buyers.
• Used in a sentence: I really like this song because it features the drummer the most.

Synonym Usage

Feature, characteristic, peculiarity refer to a distinctive trait of an individual or of a class. Feature suggests an outstanding or marked property that attracts attention: Complete harmony was a feature of the convention. Characteristic means a distinguishing mark or quality (or one of such) always associated in one's mind with a particular person or thing: Defiance is one of his characteristics. Peculiarity means that distinct or unusual characteristic that marks off an individual in the class to which he, she, or it belongs: A blue-black tongue is a peculiarity of the chow chow.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underfeature
  noun
• transfeature
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• features
  plural

Participles

• featuring
  present
• featured
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• feature
  simple
• features
  simple
• have featured
  perfect
• has featured
  perfect
• am featuring
  progressive
• are featuring
  progressive
• is featuring
  progressive
• have been featuring
  perfect progressive
• has been featuring
  perfect progressive

Past

• featured
  simple
• had featured
  perfect
• was featuring
  progressive
• were featuring
  progressive
• had been featuring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will feature
  simple
• will have featured
  perfect
• will be featuring
  progressive
• will have been featuring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of feature

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English feture, from Anglo-French, Middle French faiture, from Latin factūra “formation, manufacture.” See fact, -ure

Explanation

A feature is a part of something that makes it special or able to work better, such as a bonus feature on a DVD or a smartphone feature that provides faster Internet connections. The word feature has both a noun and a verb form used to describe a main characteristic, as in a car's safety features or a restaurant menu that features Italian dishes. In addition, feature can refer to a newspaper or magazine article that provides in-depth information, like a feature about the First Lady and her life. You’ve probably also heard it used to describe a main part of the face, such as the eyes, nose, or mouth.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

feature features featured featuring

It describes the expansion history of the universe, the appearance of background radiation, the BAO feature, the growth of galaxies, the development of large-scale cosmic structure, and much more.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026

Key players Will Jordan and Cam Roigard are yet to feature on tour but are expected to be fit for Saturday's first Test in Johannesburg.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

His previous feature, 2016’s love-it-or-hate-it loony toon “The Neon Demon,” was a modeling industry semi-satire that featured beauties quite literally gobbling up their ingenue competition.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

This year’s joint drills already feature fewer battalion-level field-training exercises than last year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

While each episode is a self-contained narrative designed to illuminate one propitious moment with as much storytelling skill as I can muster, taken together they feature several common themes.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

The paper also features former Man City manager Pep Guardiola "agony" as he opens up about the strain of the job on his marriage to Cristina Serra.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

"We are working hard to restore access to these important features as quickly as possible," he wrote, assuring that the company was working "to make Discord safer for teens."

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

In case you missed it: This week’s Risk Journal podcast features warnings about the growing cybersecurity risk among local water utilities, and a discussion of big changes to an FTC antidiscrimination enforcement mechanism.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

It features the Latin-influenced soul bop “If I Let You,” which quickly went viral and garnered praise from artists such as Questlove, Ghostface Killah, Erykah Badu, Pharrell Williams, SZA and Timbaland.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

The ideas of parent responsibility, loving encouragement, constant repetition, etc., are some of the special features of the Suzuki approach.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

While MasterChef Italia is deeply rooted in the country's own food traditions, he said the British version featured a much broader mix, including Indian, Japanese and Mexican influences.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Chakrabarty’s study also found that 20% of Amazon ebooks in their data set featured “substantial” AI assistance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

His previous feature, 2016’s love-it-or-hate-it loony toon “The Neon Demon,” was a modeling industry semi-satire that featured beauties quite literally gobbling up their ingenue competition.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

More than 200 murals have been created since the festival began, which, in addition to Salvadoran artists, has also featured artists from Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Peru and Argentina.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

A gleaming city of gold was featured on one of them.

From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi

Goldman Sachs financed Situational’s trades from the outset while featuring the fund at its emerging-manager conference at the Orlando Ritz-Carlton in March 2025.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Nicolas Jackson, Liam Delap, Mykhailo Mudryk, Tosin Adarabioyo and Mamadou Sarr were all omitted despite featuring in previous pre-season matches.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

The 125,000-square-foot upscale mall, featuring shops, restaurants and a movie theater, survived the blaze but required renovations that cost its owner and developer Rick Caruso more than $100 million, including major infrastructure work.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

They’ve reexamined Supreme Court history several times in recent years, including a new season about Neil Gorsuch we’re featuring on Amicus for the next three weeks.

From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026

“What say you, Postal Tygers? Shall we return to the Nursery General Post Office and draw some stamps? Each one featuring a different sort of cake, perhaps?”

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• aspect
• character
• component
• detail
• element
• factor
• ingredient
• item
• quality
• trait