fedora

American  

[fi-dawr-uh, -dohr-uh] / fɪˈdɔr ə, -ˈdoʊr ə /

noun

1. a soft felt hat with a curled brim, worn with the crown creased lengthwise.

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fedora British  

/ fɪˈdɔːrə /

noun

1. a soft felt or velvet medium-brimmed hat, usually with a band

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Etymology

Origin of fedora

1885–90, said to be named after Fédora, play by Victorien Sardou (1831–1908)

Explanation

A fedora is a felt hat with a wide brim and indentations on top. Many 1930s and 1940s actors wore fedoras in movies. Most fedoras are creased along the top, or crown, and pinched on either side, and they're sometimes trimmed around the center with a wide ribbon. Although fedoras might make you think of 1920s gangsters or Indiana Jones, the earliest fedoras were worn by women, and even became a symbol of the early women's rights movement. The word comes from an 1882 play, Fédora, in which the actress Sarah Bernhardt wore a fedora.

Example Sentences

The discovery led to an hours-long standoff between police and a suspect found inside the home who was detained while wearing a dark suit, tie, sunglasses and fedora.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

On Tuesday, he spoke from the dock to confirm his name and his latest not guilty pleas, while wearing a leopard print shirt with several buttons undone and holding a fedora hat.

From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026

Kid Rock headlined in a furry white vest, cutoff shorts and a fedora, singing his late-1990s hit “Bawitdaba” to a modest crowd indoors.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026

Michael Jackson's white fedora from the 1988 "Smooth Criminal" video is also up for auction, valued between £40,000 and £80,000.

From Barron's • Oct. 21, 2025

The water looks odd under the beam, a colorless broth littered with a variety of objects: a bright orange; a man’s fedora with a brim of excrement; bits of paper like torn letters.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Related Words

• headgear
• helmet