fete

1 of 2

noun

variants or fête
1
: festival
Class Day, the great fete of the yearCatherine D. Bowen
2
a
: a lavish often outdoor entertainment
a fete in the park with music and performances
b
: a large elaborate party
a fete to celebrate the museum's centennial

fete

2 of 2

verb

variants or fête
feted or fêted; feting or fêting

transitive verb

1
: to honor or commemorate with a fete
2
: to pay high honor to

Did you know?

Fete is a word worth celebrating. It's been around since Middle English, when it was used in a manuscript to refer to "fetes, spectacles and other worldly vanytees." Since the 19th century, fete has been doing double duty, also serving as a verb meaning "to honor or commemorate with a fete." You can honor fete by remembering that it entered English from Middle French, and that it derives ultimately from the Old French feste, meaning "festival"—a root that, not surprisingly, also gave English the word feast. Because of its French ties, you will sometimes see fete spelled with a circumflex above the first e (fête), as that's how it appears in that language.

Examples of fete in a Sentence

Noun won a prize at the church fete the heiress wanted to do something with her life other than shuttle from fete to fete Verb They feted the winning team with banquets and parades. the returning servicemen and servicewomen were feted with a week's worth of celebrations
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Your social calendar fills with holiday fetes, Friendsgivings, and cookie swaps galore. Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 13 Nov. 2023 Girls and boys in micro-miniskirts and bras for tops descended on the Malibu Pier for a beachside fete in celebration of the Italian fashion label’s 1-day only pop-up. Vogue, 27 July 2023 The story sounds derivative: A starstruck young woman becomes an extra in a film being shot at Cinecitta and is swept along with the movie’s Hollywood stars on a nightlong fete straight out of La Dolce Vita. Caryn James, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Sep. 2023 The two were photographed leaving Beyoncé and Jay-Z's annual fete at Chateau Marmont in the same car around 4 a.m. Earlier in the night, Jenner joined her celebrity friends at Vanity Fair's after-party. Rosa Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 14 Mar. 2023 Hundreds of guests attended his birthday fete at the Park Avenue Armory, a structure built in the late nineteenth century for a national guard regiment assigned to protect the mansions of upper Manhattan from the envious hordes it was feared might come marauding from tenements farther east. Kim Phillips-Fein, The New York Review of Books, 28 Sep. 2023 For a fancy fete to remember, surprise your guests with special memorabilia, like this limited-edition coronation scarf created by Harrods. Sophie Dweck, townandcountrymag.com, 24 Apr. 2023 Film at Lincoln Center, which presents the annual fete, on Tuesday announced the 32 films that comprise the main slate of the 61st edition. Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 8 Aug. 2023 Other stars, including Julia Fox, Emma Watson, and Emma Corrin, were also in attendance at the Fashion Week fete. Rosa Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 8 Sep. 2023
Verb
In addition to celebrating the holiday season, the evening feted the upcoming new women’s store in Beverly Hills. Rachel Marlowe, Vogue, 1 Dec. 2023 Last year’s event, for example, feted Margot Robbie, Ryan Coogler, Sarah Polley and Stephanie Hsu, who would go on to be nominated for an Oscar just months later. G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle, 29 Nov. 2023 Royal Mansour Marrakech, Morocco This desert destination is perfect for anyone who’s ever wanted to fete the holidays with a dip in their own private pool. Teresa Bergen, Travel + Leisure, 14 Oct. 2023 Armstrong was feted by Casey Bloys, HBO and Max chairman-CEO, while Deepak Chopra did the honors for Kapoor. William Earl, Variety, 21 Nov. 2023 Downey, 58, will be feted on Friday, Feb. 9, at Santa Barbara’s Arlington Theatre. Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Nov. 2023 Having a plethora of artists singing his music and feting his work is light years away from Milsap’s difficult childhood. Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 3 Oct. 2023 Kerry Condon, Jessie Buckley and Eve Hewson were feted last year. Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Nov. 2023 Talks by honorees such as producer Jon Kilik, a longtime Spike Lee and Julian Schnabel collaborator, feted this year for work of special visual sensitivity, are also expected to sell out lecture halls. Will Tizard, Variety, 6 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fete.' 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

Noun and Verb

Middle English fete, from Middle French, from Old French feste — more at feast

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1814, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of fete was in the 15th century

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Dictionary Entries Near fete

Cite this Entry

“Fete.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fete. Accessed 8 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

fete

1 of 2 noun
variants or fête
1
2
: a fancy entertainment or party

fete

2 of 2 verb
variants or fête
feted or fêted; feting or fêting
1
: to honor with a fete
2
: to pay high honor to

More from Merriam-Webster on fete

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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