well-known
Americanadjective
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clearly or fully known.
The well-known reasons are obvious.
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generally or widely known.
a well-known painting.
- Synonyms:
- celebrated, noted, famous, prominent
adjective
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widely known; famous; celebrated
-
known fully or clearly
Etymology
Origin of well-known
late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75
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.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who promised to freeze rent during his campaign, is the most well-known in this category, and there have been wins for renter-candidates in cities like Cambridge, Mass., and Seattle.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
This is something that is very well-known in administrative law and in economics—this concept of agency capture or regulatory capture.
From Slate ● Oct. 5, 2026
Next came the Daytime Emmy-winning TV series “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” which ran from 1986 through 1990 and helped kick-start the careers of now well-known stars including Phil Hartman, Laurence Fishburne and S. Epatha Merkerson.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
The 2026 cohort of graduates from the PFA Business School includes Everton midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Coventry City striker Taiwo Awoniyi and a host of well-known figures.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
They owed to him their two or three politest puzzles; and the joy and exultation with which at last he recalled, and rather sentimentally recited, that well-known charade,
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
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.
