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.
-
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.
-
a territory held in fee.
-
-
a gratuity; tip.
verb (used with object)
-
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
-
a charge made for a privilege
an entrance fee
-
property law
-
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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Vocabulary Review, Unit 6
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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:
At a normal 7% return, that 1% fee actually works out to about 15% of your returns.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
The British energy regulator said a refundable fee should be charged for projects that want to connect to the network, amid mounting demand for connections to the electricity grid.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
But at a normal 7% return, that 1% fee actually works out to about 15% of your returns.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
The 25-year-old has joined for a reported fee of £11m from Bodo/Glimt and becomes the Scottish champions' second summer recruit, following the arrival of Camilo Duran.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
“So,” Ellen says, “the registration fee can’t be more than two hundred bucks, right?”
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
The merger could help lower processing fees, spurring more merchants and consumers to use online payment services.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
There is no reliable way to predict which managers will land in the winning 15%, other than looking at who charges the lowest fees.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
A lot can be said about the steadily increasing prices on an overheated transfer market where even prospects can demand fees in the nine digits, but Diomande is special.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Its wealth management division recorded a 13 percent increase in revenue, supported by fees generated from client transactions.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
The real cost of the Nebraska trip, including airfare and fees for the festival, is about $1,500 per Truman student.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
"During these critical early years of development, most parents are trying to feed their children healthfully but may be challenged to do so by the toddler food products available in their grocery stores," said Hudson.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
Regional Food Bank are being forced to make unprecedented changes in order to feed those in need.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
“It was always too much trouble to feed you without it,” she later explains.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Carriers and third-party resellers have built lucrative businesses around used iPhones, but Apple can now capture more of that activity since devices returned at lease-end will feed into Apple’s own Certified Refurbished and trade-in channels.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
I did not understand at that time that you should feed the dogs straight raw meat and fat.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
“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
She mixed in stripes and solids to keep rooms from feeing overgrown.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 27, 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
“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.
