Fun

How to spell fun

3 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce fun

What does fun mean?

1. nounEnjoyment, amusement, or lighthearted pleasure.
2. adjectiveEnjoyable, amusing, or providing pleasure.

Fun in a sentence

• noun

  The whole team had a lot of fun at the weekend retreat.

• adjective

  She planned a fun afternoon of board games for the family.

• noun

  Learning a new language can be hard work but also great fun.

• adjective

  The new colleague turned out to be a fun person to work with.

Where does fun come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The word 'fun' is a relative newcomer to English, surfacing only in the late seventeenth century and at first carrying a slightly disreputable air. It appears to come from the older verb 'fon', recorded in Middle English, which meant to befool, to cheat, or to make a fool of someone; the related noun 'fon' even meant a fool. From the sense of a trick or a hoax, 'fun' drifted towards the friendlier idea of amusement and lighthearted enjoyment over the eighteenth century. Early dictionary writers, including Samuel Johnson, treated it as low or slangy, which is why it took a while to settle into respectable prose. Its short, blunt spelling causes no trouble today, but its history as a word for a practical joke is a neat reminder that 'fun' originally had an edge to it.

How the word is built

• fun (single root; from earlier 'fon' meaning to befool or trick)