- [countable, uncountable] something that you imagine; your imagination synonym fantasy
- night-time fancies that disappear in the morning
- a child’s wild flights of fancy
- [singular] a feeling that you would like to have or to do something synonym whim
- She said she wanted a dog but it was only a passing fancy.
- [countable, usually plural] (British English) a small decorated cake
Word Originlate Middle English: contraction of fantasy.
Idioms
See fancy in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryas/whenever, etc. the fancy takes you
- as/whenever, etc. you feel like doing something
- We bought a camper van so we could go away whenever the fancy took us.
catch/take somebody’s fancy
- to attract or please somebody
- She looked through the hotel advertisements until one of them caught her fancy.
take a fancy to somebody/something
- (especially British English) to start liking somebody/something, often without an obvious reason
- He’s taken quite a fancy to his next-door neighbour.
tickle somebody’s fancy
- (informal) to please somebody
- See if any of these tickle your fancy.
- If you see something that tickles your fancy, I’ll buy it for you.
Check pronunciation:
fancy