wannabe
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of wannabe
First recorded in 1980–85; derivative of (I) wanna be…
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.
Ruth, a fashion designer who quits the high-pressure world to become a teacher, acts as a contrast to the hustle culture-inspired ambitions of wannabe billionaire Becket, Henwick says.
From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026
“There’s a pool, I think, of wannabe buyers who have just been sitting on the sidelines and waiting for rates to come down,” Daniel Seely said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026
When Tomas Cvancara stretched his neck and planted a header on Craig Gordon's crossbar an hour into this exhilarating clash of the champions and the wannabe champions, a sense of shock swept around Tynecastle.
From BBC • Jan. 25, 2026
I was a young wannabe filmmaker trying to learn how to make movies, and somebody like me was up there onstage telling a story about how he got there.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 21, 2026
“Well,” said Zeke, who felt like this was an awful lot of pressure on one measly apology to a lying, bullying, wannabe supervillain, “I guess so.”
From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness
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.
