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

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

The capital of Texas, Austin is a bustling metropolis that attracts everyone from tech giants to wannabe Willie Nelsons. —Amanda Ogle, Travel + Leisure, 23 Aug. 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