fee

1 of 2

noun

ˈfē 

1

a(1)

: an estate in land held in feudal law from a lord on condition of homage and service

(2)

: a piece of land so held

b

: an inherited or heritable estate in land

2

a

: a fixed charge

b

: a sum paid or charged for a service

see also:

in fee

fee

2 of 2

verb

feed; feeing

transitive verb

1

chiefly Scotland : hire

2

: tip entry 9 sense 1

Synonyms of fee

Noun

• cost
• price

Verb

• hire
• employ
• recruit
• pay

Examples of fee in a Sentence

Noun

The admission fee is $10.

a credit card with no annual fee

The tuition fees went up this year.

We returned the library book late and had to pay a late fee.

His insurance covers the doctor's fee.

They paid a fortune in legal fees.

Verb

the townspeople fee country lasses as housemaids, nurses, and cooks

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Often these are aimed at either conning applicants into paying up-front fees or providing personal information that the scammers later use to gain access to credit in the victim’s name. —Kathy Kristof, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Mar. 2026

Lauren Leichtman, the Wave’s billionaire owner, shelled out an $800,000 transfer fee in January to land Brazilian forward Ludmila from the Chicago Stars in hopes of strengthening the club’s championship aspirations. —Justin Birnbaum, Sportico.com, 16 Mar. 2026

And though the overall amount billed is a matter of public record, the detailed fee requests broken out by work is – somewhat unusually – under seal and not a matter of public record. —Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune, 16 Mar. 2026

Frye, who is fully booked until 2028, declined to discuss his fees. —Michal Ruprecht, NPR, 16 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French fé, fief, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English feoh cattle, property, Old High German fihu cattle; akin to Latin pecus cattle, pecunia money

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing fee

• contingency fee
• fee-for-service
• fee simple
• fee splitting
• fee tail
• greens fee
• in fee
• slotting fee
• user fee

Rhymes for fee

• be
• bee
• bree
• cree
• flea
• flee
• free
• gee
• ghee
• glee
• he
• ki

Kids Definition

fee

noun

ˈfē

1

: a set charge

admission fee

license fee

2

: a charge for a professional service

a doctor's fees

Legal Definition

fee

noun

1

: an inheritable freehold estate in real property

especially : fee simple compare leasehold, life estate at estate

— absolute fee

: a fee granted with no restrictions or limitations on alienability : fee simple absolute at fee simple

— conditional fee

: a fee that is subject to a condition: as

a : fee simple conditional at fee simple

b : fee simple on condition subsequent at fee simple

— defeasible fee

: a fee that is subject to terminating or being terminated

— determinable fee

: a defeasible fee that terminates automatically upon the occurrence of a specified event : fee simple determinable at fee simple

— fee patent

: a fee simple absolute that is granted by a patent from the U.S. government

also : a patent that grants a fee simple absolute

the land shall have the same status as though such fee patent had never been issued

—U.S. Code

Note: Allotments of parcels of land in reservations are held in private ownership by fee patents.

— fee tail

: a fee which is granted to an individual and to that individual's descendants, which is subject to a reversion or a remainder if a tenant in tail dies with no lineal descendants, and which is not freely alienable see also entail entry 1, De Donis Conditionalibus compare fee simple conditional at fee simple

Note: The fee tail developed out of the fee simple conditional as a means to ensure that property would remain intact and in the family. Instead of giving the grantee a fee simple absolute once he or she has a child, which the grantee could then alienate (as by selling), the fee tail creates a future interest in the descendants which prevents the grantee and the descendants from alienating the property. A fee tail is created by a conveyance to the grantee and to the heirs of the grantee's body. In most jurisdictions, the fee tail is not recognized.

2

: a fixed amount or percentage charged

especially : a sum paid or charged for a service

attorney fees

— contingency fee

: a fee for the services of a lawyer paid upon successful completion of the services and usually calculated as a percentage of the gain obtained for the client

called also contingency, contingent fee

compare champerty, maintenance

— filing fee

: a fee charged for the filing of a document

Note: Filing fees are ordinarily charged in civil matters with the filing of the complaint.

— jury fee

: a fee that is assessed in some courts as part of the cost of a civil jury trial

— origination fee

: a fee charged by a lender for the preparation and processing of a loan

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, fief, from Old French fé, fief, ultimately from a Germanic word akin to Old High German fehu cattle