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world's fair

American  

noun

  1. a large international exposition with exhibitions of arts, crafts, industrial and agricultural products, scientific achievements, etc.


Etymology

Origin of world's fair

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

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.

Will the 2030 world’s fair in Saudi Arabia transform cultures or inspire visitors?

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 2026

More than 50 years after debuting at the 1970 Osaka world’s fair with the 17-minute experimental film “Tiger Child,” the format has become the ascendant king of spectacle.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025

However, he was best known for the tower, which was designed to show off France's modern industrial prowess on a world stage, as the centrepiece of the 1889 Paris Exposition, or world's fair.

From BBC • Dec. 27, 2023

The replica ship successfully sailed from Norway and was moored in Lake Michigan, on Chicago’s shore, throughout the activities of the world’s fair.

From Slate • Nov. 11, 2023

Millet was never far from Burnham’s mind, nor was the event that had brought the two of them together: the great Chicago world’s fair of 1893.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

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