fedora
Americannoun
-
fedoras
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of fedora
1885–90, said to be named after Fédora, play by Victorien Sardou (1831–1908)
Explanation
A fedora is a felt hat with a wide brim and indentations on top. Many 1930s and 1940s actors wore fedoras in movies. Most fedoras are creased along the top, or crown, and pinched on either side, and they're sometimes trimmed around the center with a wide ribbon. Although fedoras might make you think of 1920s gangsters or Indiana Jones, the earliest fedoras were worn by women, and even became a symbol of the early women's rights movement. The word comes from an 1882 play, Fédora, in which the actress Sarah Bernhardt wore a fedora.
Vocabulary lists containing fedora
Put a Lid On It: Hats, Hoods, and Other Headgear
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The Red Pyramid
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Life Is So Good
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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:
This includes Dolan’s fronting of an embarrassing blues-rock band, often while sporting a fedora, and he inflicts his music on audiences by installing himself as the opener for acts like the Eagles.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
He launched his elementary school’s first newspaper, “The Spotlight,” and purchased a fedora to seal his fate as a journalist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2026
Director Spike Lee, with wife Tonya Lewis Lee, showed his distinctive style with a suit featuring a purple fedora hat and matching bow tie, and a bag made of silver cassettes.
From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2026
Kid Rock headlined in a furry white vest, cutoff shorts and a fedora, singing his late-1990s hit “Bawitdaba” to a modest crowd indoors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026
Soon as I have some money saved, I go into the haberdasher and buy myself a fedora like Fat Frankie’s.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
Among the artifacts on view are Chief Justice John Marshall’s spectacles, one of FDR’s fedoras, and a voting machine from Florida’s Palm Beach County used in the 2000 election.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026
The mostly female attendees range from 30 years old to over 70 and are attired in outfits including cutoffs, tank tops, straw fedoras and glamorous full-length dresses.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026
That meant bringing a splash of West Side Story to the ceremony, with the singer dancing on rooftops and fire escapes with dancers dressed in 1950s-style fedoras.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2024
In the 12-episode season of “Alive and Well Enough,” the actor, musician and playwright explores his influences and opinions, offering thoughts on everything from fedoras to folk star Arlo Guthrie.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 6, 2023
As the freshmen of 1933 flailed at their oars in the first few days, Tom Bolles and Al Ulbrickson strode up and down Old Nero’s walkway in gray flannel suits and fedoras.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
