Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for wannabe. Search instead for wannabee.
Synonyms

wannabe

American  
[won-uh-bee, waw-nuh‑] / ˈwɒn əˌbi, ˈwɔ nə‑ /
Sometimes wannabee

noun

Informal.

plural

wannabes

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

wannabe British  
/ ˈwɒnəˌbiː /

noun

  1. informal

    1. a person who desires to be, or be like, someone or something else

      a group of Marilyn Monroe wannabes

    2. ( as modifier )

      a wannabe film star
"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

Etymology

Origin of wannabe

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

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.