fun
Americannoun
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fun
plural
verb (used with or without object)
adjective
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Informal. of or relating to fun, especially to social fun.
a fun thing to do; really a fun person; the funnest game.
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Informal. whimsical; flamboyant.
The fashions this year are definitely on the fun side.
idioms
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for / in fun, as a joke; not seriously; playfully.
His insults were only in fun.
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make fun of, to make the object of ridicule; deride.
The youngsters made fun of their teacher.
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like fun, certainly not; of doubtful truth.
He told us that he finished the exam in an hour. Like fun he did!
noun
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a source of enjoyment, amusement, diversion, etc
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pleasure, gaiety, or merriment
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jest or sport (esp in the phrases in or for fun )
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facetious amusement; frivolous activity
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informal
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(adverb) quickly; vigorously
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(interjection) not at all! certainly not!
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to ridicule or deride
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(modifier) full of amusement, diversion, gaiety, etc
a fun sport
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of fun
First recorded in 1675–85; dialectal variant of obsolete fon “to befool”; see fond 1 ( def. )
Explanation
When you are having fun, you are having a good time. Watching little kids jump around inside an inflatable bouncy house, you can instantly tell how much fun they're having. There is no mistaking fun when you're having it, and it's generally used to mean exactly what it sounds like, some activity or experience that's purely enjoyable. When fun takes the form of an adjective, it's informal, not strictly grammatically correct. So while you can say, "Being with her is so much fun," you can't correctly say, "She is such a fun girl." Fun turns a little bit mean when you're making fun of, or teasing, your friend. In this case, it might be fun for you, but it's probably not very much fun for him.
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:
The Bills are not only playing well, but they’re having fun doing it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
Part of the fun is how quickly the mood can shift when you step through a doorway into a peaceful courtyard with a fountain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
Concerns have been raised with the government about the amount of time primary school children are spending on a game designed to make learning times tables fun.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
There’s no shortage of fun to be had with multiple game rooms, a racquetball court, a casino room, a billiard room, and even a lavish nightclub.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026
Or maybe she felt sorry for them—or she was making fun of them?
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
“We think this project lends itself to bigger, funner events and we’re excited to be a part of that.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2020
“This is one of the funner units to be around.”
From Washington Times ● Oct. 15, 2018
“I feel like my parents lived a crazier, funner life than I did,” says Alana.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 6, 2017
This crowd is so much funner when we're hitting and scoring runs.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 12, 2012
Walking all this way to give Mr. Leroy a plate of food was worth it ’cause waren’t nothing scarier nor funner than watching him eat fish.
From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis
"It was like being with the funnest, most loving, most caring and closest member of your family."
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
“It was the funnest time ever,” she says, and rewarding in ways she never expected.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2025
This is the funnest place to be, square one.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2025
“These are some of the funnest games we’ve played all year,” Judge said.
From Seattle Times ● May 13, 2023
It's like some of the funnest times I've had in my community, where you're with them all night long telling stories of the stupid stuff they did growing up.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2022
Nearly 25% of the money generated under the proposed tax would go to permanent affordable housing that would be funned in a manner similar to Proposition HHH.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2022
It’s clear that he’s having a blast, and his spirit of funning irreverence supercharges the entire narrative like home-brewed black lightning.
From New York Times ● Feb. 29, 2020
Some of Galassi’s funning does skirt simple one-to-one identification: A Nobel Prize-winning Dutch essayist is called van Meegeren, a name mainly associated with a notorious art forger.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 3, 2015
How he got here: Wins in the O'Reilly Stakes and the Limbaugh Derby — oh, just funning you.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2015
Just funning, of course, but on the money.
From Time Magazine Archive
She was funning with me again, but she was trying to teach me a lesson too.
From "Girls Like Us" by Gail Giles
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
