wannabe

noun

wan·​na·​be ˈwä-nə-ˌbē 

variants or less commonly wannabee

1

: a person who wants or aspires to be someone or something else or who tries to look or act like someone else

2

: something (such as a company, city, or product) intended to rival another of its kind that has been successful

especially : one for which hopes have failed or are likely to fail

Synonyms

• follower
• imitator
• parrot

Examples of wannabe in a Sentence

an entrepreneur who seems to have made his fortune mainly by giving how-to-get-rich lectures to entrepreneurial wannabes

Recent Examples on the Web

The top secret agent of CONTROL is a role model for clumsy wannabe Steve Carell, though by the end, Agent 23 is the one throwing an explosive situation into total KAOS. —Brian Truitt, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025

Just about everyone gets a little pat on the head from ESPN for a big home weekend, but cutesy wannabes don’t get featured on the road. —Joe Rexrode, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025

Second, bending to the will of a presidential wannabe, Gov. Gavin Newsom, the majority party dutifully passed legislation blowing up California’s independent redistricting commission. —Jon Coupal, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025

The wildly energetic feature tells the real-life story of Scottish wannabe rappers Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd. —Alex Ritman, Variety, 5 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

from the phrase want to be

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for wannabe

• agree
• allee
• banshee
• beastly
• bibi
• bowsprit
• carefree
• cerci
• chablis
• cowpea
• crappie
• crappy