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Definitions

fete

[feyt, fet] / feɪt, fɛt /
NOUN
celebration, party
Synonyms
STRONG
ball banquet bazaar do fair festival fiesta gala
VERB
throw a party for someone
Synonyms
STRONG
celebrate entertain feast festival holiday honor lionize treat
WEAK
hold reception for make much of roll out the red carpet wine and dine
Antonyms
STRONG
disregard forget ignore neglect

Frequently Asked Questions

What is another word for fete?
A fete is a celebration, a festival, or a day of celebration. As a verb, it can mean to honor someone with such a celebration—to celebrate someone with a big party in their honor. In these contexts, the word implies that the celebration is big and lavish, like a fancy banquet, gala, feast, or ball. As a verb, it can also mean to generally celebrate someone—not with a party, but with a lot of praise or positive media coverage, for example.
Where does fete come from?
Fete comes from the French word feste, meaning “feast."
How do you use fete in a sentence?
Fete is perhaps most commonly used as a verb. Feting someone sometimes involves an actual party, but often it simply involves celebration and praise. Here are some examples of fete in a sentence:
  • Bill’s retiring and we’re throwing a big fete in his honor.
  • Hundreds gathered to fete the couple on their wedding day.
  • The director, once feted by critics, is no longer a media darling.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

While many trek in from across the country or from the diaspora in Europe and the United States, some hotel owners also report growing numbers of foreign tourists as the annual fete grows.

From Barron's • Dec. 22, 2025

On a normal weekend, MPs might try to snatch a bit of downtime, or squeeze in a game of pin the tail on the donkey at a constituency summer fete.

From BBC • Jun. 14, 2025

To fete the supersized 250th anniversary, a committee of local burghers has been meeting every few weeks for four years, preparing for as many as 100,000 people to show up this weekend.

From Slate • Apr. 19, 2025

With tour speculation mounting, Seattle rock matriarchs Ann and Nancy Wilson announced the band’s first show in four years — a hometown New Year’s Eve fete preceding the Space Needle’s annual fireworks display.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 13, 2023

Thirty thousand local residents turned out on a blustery day in mid-March to fete the men they had adopted as hometown heroes.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly