Catherine D. Bowen
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.
Synonyms
Examples of fete in a Sentence
Amanda Randone, Vogue, 26 June 2024
Held at the marque’s namesake stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, the day-long fete featured live race commentary (by proper Brits), racing simulators for excited wanna-be F1 pilots, and a lengthy live performance by Ludacris (an MBUSA ambassador and Merc-fanatic).
—Sean Evans, Robb Report, 23 June 2024
Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 1 July 2024
More recently, it was feted with the Taipei New Horizon Award at the 2023 Golden Horse Work In Progress event.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 28 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for fete 
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.
Dictionary Entries Near fete
Cite this Entry
“Fete.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fete. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fete
2 of 2 verb
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