fee
Americannoun
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a charge or payment for professional services.
a doctor's fee.
- Synonyms:
- honorarium, emolument, salary, stipend
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a sum paid or charged for a privilege.
an admission fee.
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a charge allowed by law for the service of a public officer.
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Law.
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an estate of inheritance in land, either absolute and without limitation to any particular class of heirs fee simple or limited to a particular class of heirs fee tail.
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an inheritable estate in land held of a feudal lord on condition of the performing of certain services.
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a territory held in fee.
-
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a gratuity; tip.
verb (used with object)
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to give a fee to.
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Chiefly Scot. to hire; employ.
noun
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a payment asked by professional people or public servants for their services
a doctor's fee
school fees
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a charge made for a privilege
an entrance fee
-
property law
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an interest in land capable of being inherited See fee simple fee tail
-
the land held in fee
-
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(in feudal Europe) the land granted by a lord to his vassal
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an obsolete word for a gratuity
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law (of land) in absolute ownership
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archaic in complete subjection
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verb
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rare to give a fee to
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to hire for a fee
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of fee
1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French; Old French fie, variant of fief fief. See feudal
Explanation
A fee is the cost of something, or the amount of money charged. You might need to pay a fee when you visit your favorite state park. Clubs, national parks, and gyms all charge a fee to belong or to enter. There is also the fee that a professional charges for services, like the legal fee you pay when you hire an attorney or the fee you pay your dentist to clean your teeth. Fee has an Old French origin in the word fieu, "possession, holding, domain, or payment," from the Medieval Latin feodum, "land whose use is granted in return for service."
Vocabulary lists containing fee
Ratios and Proportional Relationships
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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:
Moreover, its insurance brokerage business offers a capital-light, high-return fee income opportunity for the Thai company.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Commissions or trading costs are payable on both sides, there is a conversion fee to create the ADRs, there are borrowing costs on the ADRs also.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
His boat tour is one of many available across Maine, which range from straightforwardly commercial operations to outings led by small-town lobstermen who welcome occasional passengers for a fee.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
The rules are that you have to buy a licence fee if you watch live TV or use the iPlayer.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Miss Duncan is still occupied with the pony drivers, most likely arguing about the fee.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
Before investing in any mutual fund, be sure to do your own research to learn about any additional expenses, such as sales charges or redemption fees.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
It gained £4.9m in affiliation fees in 2024, according to its most recent annual accounts.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Discovery shareholders and to manage escalating legal fees from a half-dozen law firms hired to help defend the merger.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
The list of expenses goes on: credit-card debts, overdraft fees, interest on loans, funeral costs, unpaid taxes, administration fees for the estate.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
In the study, Ophie once again found the man sitting at the desk, still murmuring about accounts and shipping fees.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
It’s too soon for the recent rise in oil prices to feed meaningfully into inflation data, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Since then, Genaro has always tried to give back to the community, his son said, allowing people to take home groceries to feed their families and then pay later when they are able.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
It is that, beyond a certain point, the weakening could begin to feed on itself.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
What MarketWatch found was that it’s probably best to retrieve the data first, and then feed it into the AI tool of choice with the JPMorgan instructions.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
Our fields overflowing with vegetables that feed us through the year, the gentle clucking of the hens.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
Shelters for Ukrainians feeing the Russian invasion, who do not need to apply for asylum in the Netherlands, are also nearly full, he said.
From Reuters ● Aug. 18, 2022
“It was a helpless feeing sitting there on the sideline not being able to do anything about your position,” he said.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 4, 2021
In my case, after hearing the call of those geese, I spent the next several days missing my dad, feeing sad even as I was a happy new mom.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 1, 2021
AG: I have a feeing this won’t be the last time this discussion is held.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 7, 2021
“Will you report it? I’m not feeing well.”
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
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.
