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• fellow
  fellow

  noun

  a man or boy.
• Fellow
  Fellow

  noun

  a member of any of various learned societies

fellow

American  

[fel-oh] / ˈfɛl oʊ /

noun

fellows plural

1. a man or boy.

   a fine old fellow; a nice little fellow.

2. Informal. beau; suitor.

   Mary had her fellow over to meet her folks.

3. Informal. person; one.

   They don't treat a fellow very well here.

4. a person of small worth or no esteem.

5. a companion; comrade; associate.

   They have been fellows since childhood.

6. a person belonging to the same rank or class; equal; peer.

   The doctor conferred with his fellows.

7. one of a pair; mate; match.

   a shoe without its fellow.

8. Education.

   1. a graduate student of a university or college to whom an allowance is granted for special study.

   2. British. an incorporated member of a college, entitled to certain privileges.

   3. a member of the corporation or board of trustees of certain universities or colleges.

9. a member of any of certain learned societies.

   a fellow of the British Academy.

10. Obsolete. a partner.

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verb (used with object)

1. to make or represent as equal with another.

2. Archaic. to produce a fellow to; match.

adjective

1. belonging to the same class or group; united by the same occupation, interests, etc.; being in the same condition.

   fellow students; fellow sufferers.

fellow ¹ British  

/ ˈfɛləʊ /

noun

1. a man or boy

2. an informal word for boyfriend

3. informal one or oneself

   a fellow has to eat

4. a person considered to be of little importance or worth

5. 1. (often plural) a companion; comrade; associate

   2. ( as modifier )

      fellow travellers

6. (at Oxford and Cambridge universities) a member of the governing body of a college, who is usually a member of the teaching staff

7. a member of the governing body or established teaching staff at any of various universities or colleges

8. a postgraduate student employed, esp for a fixed period, to undertake research and, often, to do some teaching

9. 1. a person in the same group, class, or condition

      the surgeon asked his fellows

   2. ( as modifier )

      fellow students

      a fellow sufferer

10. one of a pair; counterpart; mate

    looking for the glove's fellow

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Fellow ² British  

/ ˈfɛləʊ /

noun

1. a member of any of various learned societies

   Fellow of the British Academy

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fellow Idioms  

1. see regular guy (fellow); strange bedfellows.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• fellows
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fellow

before 1050; Middle English felowe, felawe, late Old English fēolaga < Old Norse fēlagi partner in a joint undertaking, equivalent to fē money, property (cognate with Old English feoh, German Vieh ) + -lagi bedfellow, comrade; akin to lair ¹, lie ²

Explanation

Fellow is an old fashioned word for “guy.” If you’re wearing a top hat, you may address someone as “my good fellow.” It’s also a non-stuffy word to describe people in the same situation, such as you and your fellow Vocabulary.com fans. Other words for fellow include "chap" and "dude." A fellow can also be someone’s boyfriend, as in “Is he your fellow?” an interested suitor might ask. Another kind of fellow is an academic who's either reached a high position or won a prestigious scholarship. A MacArthur Fellow, for example, is a person who won a MacArthur fellowship (a well-deserved hunk of money). Fellow comes from an Old English word, feolaga, "one who shares with another."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fellow Fellow fellows

As Kip says, Lord Suffolk is the first person to treat him like a fellow Englishman and not a foreigner.

From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026

Since taking office Warsh has repeatedly said the Fed is committed to deliver price stability, and several of his fellow policymakers have spoken vocally about the need to address surging inflation.

From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026

It was contained in a since-withdrawn chapter on climate science co-written by ELI “expert” Jessica A. Wentz, a senior fellow at Columbia’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

Philipsen won stage 17 and fellow Belgian Tim Merlier of Soudal-Quick Step won three bunch sprint stages.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

“I’m going round the world on a tramp steamer, like the fellow who wrote this book.”

From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney

Fellow Love Island stars were among those to congratulate the couple, including former winner Casey O'Gorman who described it as the "best day".

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Fellow England international Trevoh Chalobah is in talks to join Como, while Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile are among those available for sale.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

Fellow miner Patryk Paja hopes to follow the same path soon.

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

Fellow Wimbledon regular Kev Cooper, from Cotgrave in Nottinghamshire, can go one better.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

Fellow Times reporter Hedrick Smith stood in the hall.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

The Salvadoran breakfast blended the two, a stage outside the U.S. spotlight, with Suozzi navigating the overlap awkwardly as he and his fellows sang The Fellowship’s praises, without naming it or divulging many details.

From Salon ● May 29, 2026

The group includes research fellows, postdoctoral scientists, and more than 10 PhD students studying dinosaurs and other vertebrates such as crocodiles and birds.

From Science Daily ● May 20, 2026

We met as fellows at Harvard and built a friendship grounded in work that sought to make distant suffering visible without spectacle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2026

A special initiative promised to recruit 30 postdoctoral fellows and “open the gateway” for them to fill tenure-track jobs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026

“My first name is Theodore, but I don’t like it, for the fellows called me Dora, so I made them say Laurie instead.”

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

Related Words

• boy
• chap
• dude
• guy
• lad
• man