fee
Americannoun
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fees
plural
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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
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property law
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an interest in land capable of being inherited See fee simple fee tail
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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:
New revenue streams could emerge from subscriptions, advertising or, as Meta Platforms chief Mark Zuckerberg suggested last month, charging a small fee for transactions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Teresa Kuan said that some people prefer the option of pouring their hearts out to a complete stranger for a fee.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
The ceremony fee is reportedly $7,500 — significantly lower than other venues in the city, which can range from about $9,000 to more than $42,000.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
The Federal Housing Administration insures mortgages with 3.5% down payments, though borrowers must pay premiums equal to 1.75% of the loan amount, plus a roughly 0.55% annual fee for the life of the loan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
He did not wish to trouble the manager, only to seek his advice, for which he would pay an appropriate fee.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Recent increases in sewer and trash fees, plus steadily rising water rates and higher summer water use are partly to blame.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
At least some of that money is expected to pay for her legal fees in connection with the search.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
If you invested your $2,000-a-month Social Security at 64, you could accumulate a lot in contributions, growing to roughly $80,000 at 7% or $83,000 at 10%, before taxes and fees.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
The new demonstrations were announced as a student movement, ostensibly demanding action by the government to help with the high cost of education fees and books - and the higher cost of living.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
He was supposed to pay for Andrew’s school fees and groceries, but he started falling behind even on that, and soon my mom was paying for everything.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
When you leave the app, it reverts back to an algorithm-governed feed on your return.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
Each year, rice blast destroys enough rice to feed approximately 60 million people.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026
Apparently, venturing onto Telemundo or NBC’s live feed is a bridge too far.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
And when I emailed a wedding photographer whose Instagram feed seemed perfectly curated to how I envision our special day, he quoted me $30,000 for a starter package.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
We divvied up the snake with the ax for the hens to feed on and buried the head.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
“There is an increased excitement — the feeing is palpable,” said Legend.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2024
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
“Will you report it? I’m not feeing well.”
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
