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:
"Everybody in the place just loved him. He treated everybody fairly and equally, he was such a good fella."
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 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
There was a fella who sold flopping fish straight out of a wheelbarrow.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
This was just two of the fellas out there fishing, and Newsom said it with barely any prompt.
From Slate ● Sep. 19, 2026
Say, fellas, look, we’re all friends here, amirite?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
“I think we’re in a good place,” Harbaugh said, “and fellas are ready to roll.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2025
Former footballer Kamara, who Shephard worked with on ITV game show Ninja Warrior UK, said his Thursdays and Fridays watching GMB would "never be the same again" and called him "one of the nicest fellas".
From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2024
I looked at the fellas as if shocked.
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.
