26984 words

fans

11 definitions • 16 examples
1
someone who admires and supports a person, sport, sports team, etc.:

Examples:

More than 15,000 Liverpool fans attended Saturday's game.
fan of He's a great fan of country music.
I'm pleased to meet you - I'm a big fan of your work.
2
an electric device with blades that turn quickly, used to move the air around:

Examples:

There was no air conditioning, just a ceiling fan turning slowly.
3
an object made of folded paper or other material that you wave with your hand in order to move the air around :

Examples:

Fans are still used by many Spanish women during their hot summer as a means of keeping cool.
4
to wave a fan, or something that acts as a fan, in front of your face:

Examples:

fan yourself with something It was so hot in the car that I tried to fan myself with the road map.
fan someone/yourself with something She perched on a tall stool, fanning herself with a magazine.
She sat down and began fanning her face.
5
to blow air at a fire to make it burn more strongly
6
to encourage bad emotions or behaviour to get worse:

Examples:

fan a fear The newspapers deliberately fanned the public's fears of losing their jobs.
7
to spread or open something out so it is in the shape of an open fan (= an object made of folded paper that you wave in front of your face to cool yourself down):

Examples:

In this trick, the magician fans out a deck of cards and asks you to pick a card.
8
In baseball, if a pitcher (= the person who throws the ball to the batter) fans a batter, they cause them to strike out (= to lose their turn because they have failed three times to hit the ball successfully):

Examples:

He has fanned six of the last seven hitters.
9
a device to provide a flow of air, either an object that you wave in front of you or a device with blades that are turned by a motor:

Examples:

10
a person who is very much interested in and spends a lot of time watching or reading about esp. an entertainer or sports team:

Examples:

11
to wave a fan, or something that acts as a fan, in front of your face:

Examples:

It was very hot in the car, so I fanned myself with the road map.

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