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
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Noun
Situated in the scenic village of Alfriston, the hotel is surrounded by a bustling community famed for throwing fetes and fayres on the ‘Tye’ (the village green), the sweeping South Downs National Park and chocolate-box-pretty pubs. Angelina Villa-Clarke, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024 Von Teese looked every inch a pin-up throughout the three-day fete. Violet Goldstone, WWD, 27 Sep. 2024
Verb
At the foundation’s upcoming gala — set to take place at L.A.’s Skirball Cultural Center on Oct. 23 — actor, writer and producer Ken Jeong will be feted with he Rodney Respect Award. Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Oct. 2024 The former Band member, who died in August 2023, will be feted by pals and inheritors including Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Bob Weir, Noah Kahan, Elvis Costello, Eric Church, Taj Mahal, Margo Price, Lucinda Williams, Jamey Johnson and Trey Anastasio. Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for fete 

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 9 Nov. 2024.

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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