Fad Meaning
/fæd/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA phenomenon that becomes popular for a very short time.
nounInitialism of flavin adenine dinucleotide.
Sentence Examples
Loose jackets are the latest fad.
Democracy is such a fad!
They don't want to admit that it's really a passing fad.
CEFR Practice Quiz
That fashion ____ lasted only one season before everyone stopped wearing it.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The new dance craze turned out to be just a ____ that was forgotten after just a few months.
Word Origin & History
Of English dialectal origin. Further origin obscure. Possibly from Old English ġefæd (“order, decorum”) (compare Old English ġefæd (“orderly, tidy”), fadian, ġefadian (“to set in order, arrange”), whence Middle English faden (“to arrange”)); or from French fadaise ("a trifling thought"; see fadaise).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"You're a fad, that means you're something that we've already had, but once you're gone, you don't come back."
— 2004, Andre R. Young, “Encore”, in Encore:
"The pet rock fad was started by an advertising executive named Gary Dahl. The premise was simple: take ordinary rocks, glue eyes on them, and market them as pets."
— 2010, Eric J. Cesal, Down Detour Road: An Architect in Search of Practice, page 134:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
That fashion ____ lasted only one season before everyone stopped wearing it.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The new dance craze turned out to be just a ____ that was forgotten after just a few months.