fella
Americannoun
-
fellas
plural
noun
Usage
What does fella mean? Fella is a very informal way of saying fellow—a general term for a man or boy. Fella can be used as an informal term of address similar to terms like dude, buddy, or pal, as in Hey, fella, what’s new with you? In this way, it’s perhaps most commonly used to refer to or address a male animal, especially a pet, as in Hey, little fella, you’re the cutest!It can also be used by a man to refer to himself, as in Where can a fella find a hot meal around here?Most senses of fella (and fellow) sound old-timey and aren’t commonly used (other than to sound old-timey). However, the plural form, fellas, is somewhat commonly used, especially by men or boys as an informal and familiar way to refer to their male friends (the fellas) or as a way to address them, in much the same way as the term guys. Fella is also used in the informal phrase big fella, referring to a particularly large man or object, as in He’s a big fella, ain’t he?Example: Jen’s having a night out with the ladies, so I’m going to stay here and hang with the fellas.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of fella
cf. feller 1
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:
"The big fella came in and we sat down. I'm thinking this could go any way, in any direction, at this point."
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2026
At one stop the driver’s door powered into an old Mazda truck parked next to me—sorry, fella.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026
“Maybe it don’t seem to make sense for a fella to be doing things for a reason that he don’t know about,” Nick says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2026
He’s a cute little fella, decked out in his reflective vest, hard hat and work boots, with his big eyes and a fixed grin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2026
Then after that I asked this fella what rights he had that we were offendin’, and he said, well, he didn’t know, but he must have some rights he didn’t know nothin’ about.
From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara
She added: "I love all the groups of girls all coming down together and the fellas all in groups."
From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2026
Messages of congratulations immediately flooded in on social media, including one from Macclesfield Town Council, which said: "Amazing work fellas!"
From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2026
And we asked very specifically, because there were two main fellas for that role ,and we were like, “Which one would you choose?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2025
“A few of the fellas in the bullpen reached out during the series,” Cartoon said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2024
“You need to become a better marble player before the other fellas will accept you. I’m gonna teach you some tricks.”
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
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.
