fedora
Americannoun
noun
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.
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
Next to her was a 72-year-old cult-legend laptop composer dressed in black and wearing his trademark fedora, conveying ageless cool.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025
A fedora used in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is expected to sell for between £150,000 and £300,000.
From BBC • Nov. 7, 2025
Michael Jackson's white fedora from the 1988 "Smooth Criminal" video is also up for auction, valued between £40,000 and £80,000.
From Barron's • Oct. 21, 2025
He takes out his camera and a bow tie and a fedora.
From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty
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.
