celebrity

noun

ce·​leb·​ri·​ty sə-ˈle-brə-tē 

plural celebrities

1

: the state of being celebrated : fame

The actress lived a life of celebrity.

2

: a famous or celebrated person

Many celebrities attended the awards ceremony.

Synonyms

• star
• personality
• celeb

Examples of celebrity in a Sentence

The actress lived a life of celebrity.

There were many celebrities at the party.

Recent Examples on the Web

Unsurprisingly, the families of deceased celebrities caught in the crossfire—those of Malcolm, MLK, Bob Ross, Robin Williams, and others—aren’t loving it. —Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2025

That blend has endeared Weiss to readers and power players in Los Angeles, where her friendship with A-List celebrities and media moguls has been well documented. —Max Tani, semafor.com, 13 Oct. 2025

Steve Rubell, as a sort of publicity stunt, had started turning away celebrities in order to make the newspapers. —Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025

Across two celebrity rosters, the players had over 250 million followers on social media combined. —Eduardo Tansley, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English celebrite "fame, renown," borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French celebrité, borrowed from Latin celebritāt-, celebritās "busy or crowded conditions, reputation, fame," from celebr-, celeber "much used, frequented, widely known, famed" + -itāt-, -itās -ity — more at celebrate

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing celebrity

• cult of celebrity
• local celebrity

Kids Definition

celebrity

noun

ce·​leb·​ri·​ty sə-ˈleb-rət-ē 

plural celebrities

1

: the state of being celebrated : fame

his short-lived celebrity

2

: a famous or celebrated person