What does "fee" mean?
An amount charged for a privilege.
Fee
/fiː/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An amount charged for a privilege.
- Grammar: fee is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: account, admission, admission fee, allowance.
- Useful contrasts: benefits, cashback, gifts.
- Usage evidence: Each member has to pay a membership fee.
How to use "fee"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "fee" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "fee" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "fee" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "fee" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "fee" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "account" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "fee", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An amount charged for a privilege.
"late fee; license fee, admission fee; activation fee; service fee"
- 2 an interest in land capable of being inherited wordnet
- 3 An amount charged for professional services.
"legal fees; consulting fees"
- 4 a fixed charge for a privilege or for professional services wordnet
- 5 An additional monetary payment charged for a service or good, especially one that is minor compared to the underlying cost.
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 An inheritable estate in land, whether absolute and without limitation to potential heirs (fee simple) or with limitations to particular kinds of heirs (fee tail).
- 7 A right to the use of a superior's land as a stipend for certain services to be performed, typically military service. historical
- 8 Synonym of fief: the land so held. historical
- 9 An inheritable estate in land held of a feudal lord on condition of performance of certain services, typically military service. historical
- 10 Synonym of possession. figuratively, obsolete
"Once did she hold the gorgeous East in fee;"
- 11 Money paid or bestowed; payment; emolument. obsolete
- 12 A prize or reward. Only used in the set phrase "A finder's fee" in Modern English. obsolete
"For though sweet love to conquer glorious bee, / Yet is the paine thereof much greater than the fee."
Verb
- 1 To reward for services performed, or to be performed; to recompense; to hire or keep in hire; hence, to bribe.
"In vain for Hellebore the patient cries / And fees the doctor; but too late is wise"
- 2 give a tip or gratuity to in return for a service, beyond the compensation agreed on wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
- 2 A diminutive of the female given name Fiona.
"Then turning to Fiona, she said, “Fee, I'll only be a minute. […]"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Each member has to pay a membership fee."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "fee"?
Common synonyms include: account, admission, admission fee, allowance, anchorage, assessment.
How do you use "fee" in a sentence?
Each member has to pay a membership fee.
How do you pronounce "fee"?
Pronounced /fiː/.
Etymology
From Middle English fee, fe, feh, feoh, from Old English feoh (“cattle, property, wealth, money, payment, tribute, fee”) with contamination from Old French fieu, fief (from Medieval Latin fevum, a variant of feudum (see feud), from Frankish *fehu (“cattle, livestock”); whence fief), both from Proto-Germanic *fehu (“cattle, sheep, livestock, owndom”), from Proto-Indo-European *péḱu (“livestock”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian Fäi (“cattle, livestock”), West Frisian fee (“livestock”), Cimbrian biighe, viighe (“animal, beast”), Dutch vee (“cattle, livestock”), German Viech (“animal, beast”), Vieh (“livestock”), German Low German Veeh (“cattle, livestock, property”), Luxembourgish Véi (“cattle”), Vilamovian fi, fī, fii, fiih (“cattle, livestock”), Yiddish פֿי (fi), פֿיך (fikh, “cattle, livestock”), Danish and Faroese fæ (“cattle, livestock”), Icelandic fé (“assets, livestock, money”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk fe (“cattle, livestock”), Swedish fä (“beast, cattle, dolt”), Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍉 (faihō), 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿 (faihu, “possessions, property; riches, wealth; money”); also Latin pecū (“cattle”), Old Prussian pecku (“cattle”), Armenian ասր (asr, “fleece, wool”), Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬯𐬎 (pasu, “livestock”), Bactrian ποσο (poso, “sheep”), Central Kurdish پەز (pez, “sheep”), Northern Kurdish pez (“sheep”), Ossetian фыс (fys, “sheep”), Talysh pəs, пәс (“sheep”), Sanskrit पशु (paśu, “cattle”).