fiancé
Americannoun
noun
Gender
See fiancée.
Etymology
Origin of fiancé
First recorded in 1850–55; from French: “betrothed,” past participle of fiancer, Old French fiancier, verbal derivative of fiance “a promise,” equivalent to fi(er) “to trust” (from unattested Vulgar Latin fīdāre, Latin fīdere ) + -ance noun suffix; see -ance, -ee
Explanation
The minute you get down on one knee and ask a man to marry you — assuming he says "yes" — he becomes your fiancé, or the man you are engaged to marry. Fiancé comes from French; in fact, it is so French that it even has masculine and feminine versions (like many nouns in French). If you're talking about a woman, you would call her a fiancée rather than a fiancé, which is used only to refer to men. The Latin root of fiancé, which is spelled the same way, means "a promise," so you can think of becoming someone's fiance as a promise you're making to go through with the marriage.
Vocabulary lists containing fiance
English Words Derived from French, List 8
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Illegal
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Endangered
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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.
Taylor Swift's fiancé Travis Kelce was among star names whose homes were struck during 2024 and 2025.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
When the singer and her fiancé bought the home, it marked one of the priciest sales in the area in 2024.
From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026
In “Our Perfect Storm,” childhood best friends Frankie and George go on a platonic honeymoon after Frankie’s fiancé dumps her at the start of their wedding weekend.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
Anthony León is her lyrical tenor fiancé, Ernesto Petti Meg’s lordly loutish jealous husband and Nathan Bowles the loutish Dr. Caius.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026
The family was now destitute; there was no money to send Anna to her fiancé, to the marriage she had given up.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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.
