fanfare
Americannoun
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fanfares
plural
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a flourish or short air played on trumpets or the like.
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an ostentatious display or flourish.
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publicity or advertising.
noun
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a flourish or short tune played on brass instruments, used as a military signal, at a ceremonial event, etc
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an ostentatious flourish or display
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of fanfare
1760–70; < French, expressive word akin to fanfaron fanfaron.
Explanation
Fanfare is a loud, proud burst of something to get attention. If you open up a carpet store with one of those sky-sweeping lights, lots of balloons, and a brass band, you’re doing it with great fanfare. Originally fanfare meant a short burst of music played by trumpeters, usually when someone important entered a room. But these days we describe anything as fanfare that has the same feeling as a burst of trumpets. If you’re a TV executive with a new show you think is going to be a big hit, roll it out with fanfare–—ad campaigns, billboards, celebrity parties!
Vocabulary lists containing fanfare
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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.
See Examples For:
A revealing dispatch from across the pond: Kim Kardashian’s underwear empire has expanded to the U.K., to much fanfare.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
Lewandowski made his first trip to the city in June and was met with a fanfare of 'welcome to Chicago' billboard messages from the drive from the airport.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Former OpenAI employee Leopold Aschenbrenner established his Situational Awareness hedge fund to great fanfare in 2024.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
Earlier this month, to much fanfare, the chip maker introduced American depositary receipts to add to its longstanding listing in Korea.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
When all Jungvolk and Jungmädel had recited the oath, the trumpets blared a fanfare, and a military band burst out in National Socialist songs.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
The state banquet is the spectacular showstopper of a state visit, a glittering feast with speeches, royal toasts, trumpet fanfares and fancy food and wine.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2025
Bley’s influential body of work included delicate chamber miniatures and rugged, blaring fanfares, with a lot of varied terrain in between.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 20, 2023
Along with the new, there will be the usual trumpet fanfares and music which has been historically used at coronations over the last four centuries.
From Reuters ● May 4, 2023
His credits include four Olympic fanfares and a gridiron March for NBC’s football coverage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2023
Horns blew fanfares as Lionstar and Lady Lyanna pushed out from shore, moving downriver to clear the way for Seaswift.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
