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• fete
  fete

  noun

  a day of celebration; holiday.
• fête
  fête

  noun

  a gala, bazaar, or similar entertainment, esp one held outdoors in aid of charity

fete

American  

[fayt, fet] / feɪt, fɛt /

French fête

noun

• fetes
  plural

1. a day of celebration; holiday.

   The Fourth of July is a great American fete.

2. a festive celebration or entertainment.

   The ball was the greatest fete of the season.

3. a religious feast or festival.

   a fete lasting several days in honor of a saint.

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verb (used with object)

feted, feting

1. to entertain at or honor with a fete.

   to fete a visiting celebrity.

2. to celebrate, laud, or acclaim.

   He was feted in the press and honored by fellow citizens.

fête British  

/ feɪt /

noun

1. a gala, bazaar, or similar entertainment, esp one held outdoors in aid of charity

2. a feast day or holiday, esp one of religious significance

3. informal an organized group entertainment, esp a party or a dance

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verb

1. (tr) to honour or entertain with or as if with a fête

   the author was fêted by his publishers

2. informal (intr) to join in a fête

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• fetes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of fete

First recorded in 1745–55; from French fête “holiday, festival,” from Old French feste “feast”; see origin at feast

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Explanation

A fête is a party, often one thrown in someone's honor. You'll find fête used as both a verb and a noun. If you want to fête someone, throw them a fête. Fête is a word taken directly from French. In fact, sometimes in English you'll see a circumflex accent over the first "e" in fête. This makes it especially easy to remember, because this accent looks almost like a party hat.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fete fête fetes feted feting

Local permit-holding residents could briefly pass through the village on Monday evening, where period cars lined the streets and a fete was staged on the village green.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

Massive crowds turned out to fete and celebrate Lafayette throughout his 13-month tour.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

He returned home a hero, with his picture on the cover of Life magazine, a White House fete and unexpected celebrity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026

While many trek in from across the country or from the diaspora in Europe and the United States, some hotel owners also report growing numbers of foreign tourists as the annual fete grows.

From Barron's ● Dec. 22, 2025

Thirty thousand local residents turned out on a blustery day in mid-March to fete the men they had adopted as hometown heroes.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Charles, whose birthday was Nov. 14 and has had a number of recent health problems, wasn’t actually in attendance at Thursday’s fête.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

With the scale of a fête like this, the task of planning and shielding the affair from public glare could prove as difficult as winning another Grammy or Super Bowl trophy.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2025

Earlier this week, Klum told USA Today that her yearly fête was a result of having few “really cool” Halloween party options in New York.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2024

It’s like they are frozen in time, enjoying a giant and timeless party somewhere: On a balcony admiring ballroom dancers, or guests at a grandiose fête thrown by the Great Gatsby himself.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 2024

I see the stars, I see the rockets, and for a moment have the impression that I have fallen asleep at a garden fête.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

It enables the community to use the field for events like fetes and weddings, while still encouraging wildlife diversity, Taylor said.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

Wild and kitschy shows followed with opening fetes dedicated to colorful subjects including Andy Warhol, circus clowns, and Canadian television creators and puppeteers Sid and Marty Krofft.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2026

Biden and Kishida on Wednesday will hold talks and take part in a joint news conference before Biden fetes the Japanese leader with the state dinner in the East Room.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 8, 2024

At one of last week’s fetes for foreign business executives, including Apple’s Tim Cook, Li Qiang, China’s new premier, pledged that China would continue to “open its doors wider and wider.”

From New York Times ● Apr. 4, 2023

The ‘magnificences’ she oversaw at the French court had many components, from jousting tournaments and firework displays to water fetes and mock battles.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

That could have been Trout’s spot this summer: a worthy honor for a three-time most valuable player, a local hero feted on the national stage the Angels have failed to provide him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

It's named after the feted New York club where Madonna got an early break by persuading DJ Mark Kamins to play her debut single, Everybody.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

Beckham, who spent six seasons with LA Galaxy from 2007, said he was deeply honored to be feted by a Hollywood film megastar.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

In other quarters, however, the news is being feted as long overdue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026

As for report cards, members of the family who brought home good grades were feted and rewarded.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

And Monday, while speakers were feting him with their deepest thanks for hour after hour, they were also delaying his speaking window until after prime time on the East Coast.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2024

The administration’s feting of Modi stretched into Friday at the State Department, where Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken hosted a luncheon in the Indian leader’s honor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2023

But in feting “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” the metaverse-skipping action adventure directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheiner, the filmmaking duo known as “the Daniels,” the Gothams selected an unlikely runaway success.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 28, 2022

Presiding there is Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, the Open’s top sponsor, feting clients who have flown in from Silicon Valley, Miami and practically everywhere in between.

From New York Times ● Sep. 10, 2022

And off he went, opening the great doors, feting the musicians, soaking them with champagne, drunk himself without drinking a drop, solely with the music which brought him back to life.

From Tartarin On The Alps by Katharine Prescott Wormeley

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