popular
Americanadjective
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regarded with favor, approval, or affection by people in general.
a popular preacher.
- Synonyms:
- bookmark
-
regarded with favor, approval, or affection by an acquaintance or acquaintances.
He's not very popular with me just now.
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of, relating to, or representing the people, especially the common people.
popular discontent.
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of the people as a whole, especially of all citizens of a nation or state qualified to participate in an election.
popular suffrage; the popular vote; popular representation.
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prevailing among the people generally.
a popular superstition.
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suited to or intended for the general masses of people.
popular music.
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adapted to the ordinary intelligence or taste.
popular lectures on science.
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suited to the means of ordinary people; not expensive.
popular prices on all tickets.
adjective
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appealing to the general public; widely favoured or admired
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favoured by an individual or limited group
I'm not very popular with her
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connected with, representing, or prevailing among the general public; common
popular discontent
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appealing to or comprehensible to the layman
a popular lecture on physics
noun
Synonym Usage
See general.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of popular
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English populer, from Latin populāris; see people, -ar 1
Explanation
The adjective popular describes something that is well-liked or admired by a lot of people. Sometimes when you read a bestselling novel, you wonder why it's so popular. Popular comes from the Latin word populus, which means people. Anything that is popular is liked by many people. When you're talking about popular music or art, you may sometimes shorten the word popular to "pop," as in pop music or pop culture. Popular also describes things by or for the people, or the general population, such as the popular vote or a popular revolt.
Vocabulary lists containing popular
We the People: Popul
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"Sports in America"
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Introduction to Fiction
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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.
"It has been very hard," he said, adding that the cliffs - a popular tourist site on the south-west of the Gower peninsula - now felt "empty".
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan was transferred back to jail on Friday, authorities said, hours after the popular politician was taken to hospital for court-ordered medical checks.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
The song has become one of his most popular, with more than 900 million streams on Spotify.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
A closer look at a Beatles deep cut: Did you know that the Beatles’ all-time most popular song never made the charts—and wasn’t even written by John or Paul?
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
The serial was so popular, it was later published as the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the greatest publishing sensation of the nineteenth century.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
