wannabe

noun

wan·​na·​be ˈwä-nə-ˌbē How to pronounce wannabe (audio)
variants or less commonly wannabee
1
: a person who wants or aspires to be someone or something else or who tries to look or act like someone else
2
: something (such as a company, city, or product) intended to rival another of its kind that has been successful
especially : one for which hopes have failed or are likely to fail

Examples of wannabe in a Sentence

an entrepreneur who seems to have made his fortune mainly by giving how-to-get-rich lectures to entrepreneurial wannabes
Recent Examples on the Web She’s judged wannabes on American Idol; she’s headlined the Super Bowl halftime show; she’s celebrated a king’s coronation. Maura Johnston, Rolling Stone, 20 Sep. 2024 Not the venture capitalists who sank billions into EV wannabes in a flight of post-rational exuberance. Mark Phelan, USA TODAY, 1 Sep. 2024 Like Hughes and every other 20-something, male wannabe in Nashville, Sadler had a prodigious mullet. Keith Sharon, USA TODAY, 2 Sep. 2024 And al Qaeda central, while inspiring some wannabes abroad and creating many videos, has done almost nothing of consequence in 20 years. John Mueller, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2021 See all Example Sentences for wannabe 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wannabe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

from the phrase want to be

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of wannabe was in 1976

Dictionary Entries Near wannabe

Cite this Entry

“Wannabe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wannabe. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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