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.
Wearing his trademark brightly coloured Fedora, the flamboyant showman looks around the yard where more than half a dozen self-built homes sit.
From BBC • Aug. 30, 2025
The roles other than Fedora and Loris are thoroughly unrewarding.
From New York Times • Jan. 1, 2023
Fedora, 59, was last an assistant for Baylor in 2020.
From Fox News • Jan. 27, 2022
The Tar Heels haven’t beaten the Cavaliers since a 35-14 win in October 2016 under former coach Larry Fedora.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 16, 2021
Fedora tilted to one side, suit neady buttoned, face in shadow, the Mahdi approaches her.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
