feature

[fee-cher]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR feature ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a prominent or conspicuous part or characteristic: Tall buildings were a new feature on the skyline.

something offered as a special attraction: This model has several added features.

Also called feature film. the main motion picture in a movie program: What time is the feature?

any part of the face, as the nose, chin, or eyes: prominent features.

features, the face; countenance: to compose one's features for the photographers.

the form or cast of the face: delicate of feature.

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

feature story.

Archaic. make, form, or shape.

verb (used with object), fea·tured, fea·tur·ing.

to be a feature or distinctive mark of: It was industrial expansion that featured the last century.

to make a feature of; give prominence to: to feature a story or picture in a newspaper.

to delineate the main characteristics of; depict; outline.

Informal. to conceive of; imagine; fancy: He couldn't quite feature himself as a bank president.

Older Use. to resemble in features; favor.

verb (used without object), fea·tured, fea·tur·ing.

to play a major part.

Origin of feature

1350–1400; 1905–10 for def 3; Middle English feture < Anglo-French, Middle French faiture < Latin factūra a making. See fact, -ure

Related formstrans·fea·ture, verb (used with object), trans·fea·tured, trans·fea·tur·ing.un·der·fea·ture, noun

Synonyms for feature

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR feature ON THESAURUS.COM

1. 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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for features

physiognomy, visage, mien, appearance, countenance, face, mug, puss, lineaments

Examples from the Web for features

Contemporary Examples of features

He reminisces about the features of Texas life that make Texas its own, distinctive community.
Will Texas Stay Texan?
David Fontana
December 29, 2014
There is an expanded place-name index with more than 150,000 entries, and separate undersea, Moon, and Mars features.
The Best Coffee Table Books of 2014
Robert Birnbaum
December 13, 2014
Its 8-megapixel camera, inclusive of true-tone and dual-LED f/2.2 aperture flashes, features optical image stabilization.
Why Every Home Needs a Drone This Holiday
Charlie Gilbert
December 8, 2014
She also features a more natural face than the one of docile serenity so often bestowed on the Queen of Heaven.
The Virgin Mary Lookbook
William O’Connor
December 7, 2014
It features on its front and back covers an intricate “original” design, embossed in gold.
Rand Paul’s Many Leather-Bound Books
Olivia Nuzzi
November 27, 2014

Historical Examples of features

She gazed on his features as he slept; and was left to sorrow alone.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
They say that he paints not merely a man's features, but his mind and heart.
The Prophetic Pictures (From "Twice Told Tales")
Nathaniel Hawthorne
What if Remorse should assume the features of an injured friend?
The Haunted Mind (From "Twice Told Tales")
Nathaniel Hawthorne
To some features of the Bill he was opposed, but was in favor of its principle.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
In some features, one of the most unusual I have seen since I have been practicing law.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana

British Dictionary definitions for features

feature

noun

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

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

the principal film in a programme at a cinema

an item or article appearing regularly in a newspaper, magazine, etca gardening feature

Also called: feature story a prominent story in a newspaper, etca feature on prison reform

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

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

archaic general form or make-up

linguistics a quality of a linguistic unit at some level of descriptiongrammatical feature; semantic feature

verb

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

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

(tr) US informal to imagine; considerI can't feature that happening

Word Origin for feature

C14: from Anglo-French feture, from Latin factūra a making, from facere to make

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

Word Origin and History for features

"parts of the visible body" (especially the face), c.1300, from feature (n.).

feature

early 14c., "make, form, fashion," from Anglo-French feture, from Old French faiture "deed, action; fashion, shape, form; countenance," from Latin factura "a formation, a working," from past participle stem of facere "make, do, perform" (see factitious). Sense of "facial characteristic" is mid-14c.; that of "any distinctive part" first recorded 1690s. Entertainment sense is from 1801; in journalism by 1855. Meaning "a feature film" is from 1913.

feature

1755, "to resemble," from feature (n.). The sense of "make special display or attraction of" is 1888; entertainment sense from 1897. Related: Featured; featuring.