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.
One well-known example is the "cat state," where an oscillator exists as a superposition of two wave packets moving in opposite directions.
From Science Daily • Jun. 15, 2026
Named after a well-known Whitby whaler and scientist, it was built at the shipyard of Cook, Welton and Gemmell, before being floated down the River Hull.
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2026
He painted this one of the heiress to Hunt Wesson Foods and her husband, a zealous art fan, shortly after creating another well-known double portrait of Isherwood and Bachardy.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026
The book is full of fascinating trivia, but Mr. Norman, though dependable with places and dates, is incapable of breathing life into the well-known.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
Here was a group known as the Adena—the name is that of a well-known site.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
