I. fan 1 S3 W2 /fæn/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Sense 1: Date: 1800-1900 ; Origin: fanatic ]
[ Sense 2: Date: 700-800 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: vannus ]
1 . someone who likes a particular sport or performing art very much, or who admires a famous person:
Groups of football fans began heading towards the ground.
fan of
He’s a big fan of Elvis Presley.
fan mail/letters (=letters sent to famous people by their fans)
2 .
a) a machine with turning blades that is used to cool the air in a room by moving it around:
a ceiling fan
b) a flat object that you wave with your hand which makes the air cooler
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + fan
▪ a football/tennis/baseball etc fan
Jack is a keen football fan.
▪ a music/jazz/rock etc fan
Jazz fans are in for a treat at this year’s Montreux Jazz Festival.
▪ a film/movie fan
This book is a must for all film fans.
▪ a Manchester United/Redsox/Colts etc fan
Manchester United fans were delighted with their team’s victory.
▪ a Rolling Stones/Kylie Minogue etc fan
Mike has been a lifelong Kylie Minogue fan.
▪ a big/huge/massive fan
Elizabeth is a massive fan of Elton John.
▪ a devoted fan (=a strong supporter or admirer)
Devoted fans from all over the country have travelled to the concert.
▪ a loyal fan (=fans who always support someone)
He will be playing to hundreds of loyal fans on Sunday.
▪ adoring fans (=fans who like and admire someone very much)
She’s mobbed by adoring fans wherever she goes.
▪ sb’s number one fan
She told Dave that she was his number one fan.
▪ rival/opposing/opposition fans (=fans who support different teams competing against each other)
There were fights between rival fans outside the stadium.
▪ home fans (=fans at their own team’s sports field)
The home fans cheered the team onto the pitch.
▪ away fans (=fans visiting another team’s sports field)
Two sections of the ground had been allocated to away fans.
■ fan + NOUN
▪ fan mail
The group receives lots of fan mail.
▪ a fan club
Her fan club has 25,000 members in the UK alone.
▪ fan base (=the people who are someone’s biggest fans)
The band has built up a loyal fan base over the years.
■ verbs
▪ fans cheer/applaud (somebody/something)
Fans on both sides applauded their skill and spirit.
▪ fans boo (somebody/something)
Their own fans booed them off the pitch.
▪ fans chant something
England fans chanted his name.
▪ disappoint fans
The concert was cancelled, disappointing hundreds of fans.
II. fan 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive] ( past tense and past participle fanned , present participle fanning )
1 . to make air move around by waving a fan, piece of paper etc so that you feel cooler
fan yourself
People in the audience were fanning themselves with their programmes.
2 . literary to make someone feel an emotion more strongly SYN fuel :
Her resistance only fanned his desire.
fan the flames (of something)
The book will serve to fan the flames of debate.
3 . fan a fire/flame etc to make a fire burn more strongly by blowing or moving the air near it:
The wind rose, fanning a few sparks in the brush.
fan out phrasal verb
1 . if a group of people fan out, they walk forwards while spreading over a wide area
2 . fan something ↔ out to spread out a group of things that you are holding so that they make a half-circle:
Fan the cards out, then pick one.
3 . if something such as hair or clothing fans out, it spreads out in many directions