fella

noun

fel·​la ˈfe-lə How to pronounce fella (audio)
variants or less commonly feller
plural fellas also fellers
informal : fellow sense 4c, man sense 1a(1)
a nice fella
"The fella who does the windows here sometimes puts a striped shirt with a striped tie and a striped suit …"Teri Agins
A fella who accepts himself and is relaxed into who he is—that appeals to people.Rebecca Winters Keegan
Moments when a feller needs a friend and so forth.P. G. Wodehouse
Gunnysack Johnson observed that "nobody can talk as interestingly as the feller that's not hampered by facts or information."Jim Reed

Examples of fella in a Sentence

He's not a bad fella. She has a new fella.
Recent Examples on the Web As for that fuzzy fella who’s got a seemingly endless supply of jelly beans? Melissa Willets, Parents, 16 Mar. 2024 Sorry fellas, your exit velocity, lack of power and scarcity of walks aren’t worthy of first-time elections. Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2024 And the last of the line up is also the youngest fella. Rebecca Angel Baer, Southern Living, 31 Jan. 2024 Early in the week, attendees began noticing the discrepancies between their Girls State experience and that of the Boys State fellas, one of the most substantive being the more engaged, rigorous political education the guys seem to be receiving. Lisa Kennedy, Variety, 21 Jan. 2024 Nathan Smothers Nathan Smothers, the youngest of this year’s fellas, is a 23-year-old 4th generation citrus and cattle farmer from Bartow, Florida. Rebecca Angel Baer, Southern Living, 15 Dec. 2023 Blair recalled meeting an interesting fella through a friend recently. Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 1 Nov. 2023 Then there was the fella in Westchester, who had serious halitosis, who leaned in for a kiss after dinner. Lara Sterling, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2023 The pop star and Brittany appear to have grown close during their time together, even coming up with their own special way to root on their fellas. Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 24 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fella.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

alteration of fellow

First Known Use

1816, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fella was in 1816

Dictionary Entries Near fella

Cite this Entry

“Fella.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fella. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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