wannabe

[ won-uh-bee, waw-nuh‐ ]

/ ˈwɒn əˌbi, ˈwɔ nə‐ /

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See synonyms for: wannabe / wannabes on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural wan·na·bes.Informal.

one who aspires, often vainly, to emulate another's success or attain eminence in some area.

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Sometimes wan·na·bee .

Origin of wannabe

First recorded in 1980–85; derivative of (I) wanna be…

Words nearby wannabe

wanker, Wankie, wanksta, wanky, wanna, wannabe, Wanne-Eickel, wannish, want, want ad, wantage

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use wannabe in a sentence

California's gubernatorial recall election has become a casting call for wannabes seeking a giant earned-media opportunity.
California recall election becomes circus of media spotlight seekers|Lachlan Markay|July 23, 2021|Axios
Meanwhile, Khazein allegedly researched routes the wannabe kidnappers could take from her Brooklyn home to the water to Venezuela and from there to Tehran.
Iran Hatched a Plan to Kidnap a Journalist in Brooklyn Over Regime Criticism: DOJ|Blake Montgomery|July 13, 2021|The Daily Beast
Unrated during the pandemicKnots of wannabe diners clog the entrance of what sounds like a nightclub but looks like the feedery it is, what with a big circular bar and servers crisscrossing the expanse with trays of food and not a little drama.
Count on crisp and juicy fried chicken at the bustling new Yardbird in D.C.|Tom Sietsema|June 25, 2021|Washington Post
With that, Franklin became not only a “flee,” but a wannabe cop killer, transformed by a radio call that described him as trying to hit an officer.
Minneapolis Police Were Cleared in the 2013 Killing of Terrance Franklin. A Video Complicates the Story—and Now the Case May Be Reopened|Josiah Bates|June 25, 2021|Time

He began shooting back-roads Alabama — notably signs and buildings — with a Brownie in 1958, the same year Andy Warhol first trained his Polaroid on New York celebs and wannabe “superstars.”
In the galleries: Perspectives on blending culture and identity|Mark Jenkins|December 11, 2020|Washington Post
What this essentially means is that superman-wannabe white people do not see my people as their equal.
Dear White People: Well-Meaning Paternalism Is Still Racist|Chloé Valdary|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Doane tweeted, “the film does make fun of Wannabe Berean unimaginative Christians who need to lighten up.”
Kirk Cameron Saves Christmas from Abominable Killjoys (Other Christians)|Brandy Zadrozny|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Mike Huckabee, the Fox News host and wannabe presidential contender, was governor of my home state, Arkansas, until 2007.
Arkansas’s Blue Collar Social Conservatives Don’t Know What’s Coming|Monica Potts|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He was just another wannabe messiah who ended up on the wrong side of the authorities.
So-Called ‘Biblical Scholar’ Says Jesus A Made-Up Myth|Candida Moss, Joel Baden|October 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When the media show the hyper actions of these wannabe soldiers, public perception changes.
Ferguson Shows a Nation at War With Itself|Roland S. Martin|August 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for wannabe

wannabe

wannabee

/ (ˈwɒnəˌbiː) /

noun

informal

a person who desires to be, or be like, someone or something elsea group of Marilyn Monroe wannabes
(as modifier)a wannabe film star

Word Origin for wannabe

C20: phonetic shortening of want to be

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

wannabe

Origin of wannabe

Words nearby wannabe

Words related to wannabe

How to use wannabe in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for wannabe

wannabee

Word Origin for wannabe