fandom
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of fandom
Explanation
Use the word fandom to talk about the community of people who admire a particular celebrity, hero, sports team, or TV show. If you are president of the Boston Red Sox fan club, you're part of the team's fandom. Your favorite boy band might have a fandom that consists mainly of screaming pre-teens, while National Public Radio's fandom is probably mostly middle aged. If you are a fan of a singer or a series of comic books, you can say you belong to their fandom. The word has been around since the very early twentieth century, from fan, a baseball slang abbreviation of fanatic, which comes from the Latin fanaticus, "mad, or inspired by a god."
Vocabulary lists containing fandom
-dom and -hood
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
A Hero's Guide to Summer Vacation
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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.
But the fandom is more than just vibes.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
“Whether it’s a music festival or a creator’s livestream, fandom is no longer a spectator sport,” added Mohan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
"The way to encourage fandom is to create moments, so I'm happy the two teams coming over know how to score points - and score them in bunches," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
“In pop culture, we have introduced an entirely new fandom experience and destination that leans into things like trading cards and collectibles, but also exclusive collaborations, into one cohesive experience,” Sylvester said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
“The online fandom would be in shambles. The wiki may crash.”
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
