PHENOMENON | Meaning In The Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of phenomenon in English phenomenonnoun [ C ] uk /fəˈnɒm.ɪ.nən/ us /fəˈnɑː.mə.nɑːn/ plural phenomena uk /fəˈnɒm.ɪ.nə/ us /fəˈnɑː.mə.nə/

phenomenon noun [C] (EXISTING THING)

Add to word list Add to word list C1 something that exists and can be seen, felt, tasted, etc., especially something unusual or interesting: Gravity is a natural phenomenon. Do you believe in the paranormal and other psychic phenomena? There's evidence to suggest that child abuse is not just a recent phenomenon. Synonyms episode (EVENT) event happening incident occurrence (HAPPENING)

• paranormal phenomena
• geophysical and geological phenomena
• Johnson (op. cit., page 53) calls this phenomenon 'the principle of minimal effort'.
• the El Nino weather phenomenon
• This trend is certainly not a new phenomenon.

Objects - general words

• affair
• Americana
• artefact
• baby
• blank
• column
• conversation piece
• doodah
• entity
• ephemera
• extrusion
• forensics
• nick-nack
• non-abstract
• object
• piece
• shape
• snow globe
• such and such
• tchotchke

See more results »

phenomenon noun [C] (SUCCESS)

someone or something that is extremely successful, often because of special qualities or abilities: The Beatles were a phenomenon - nobody had heard anything like them before. someone famous

• celebrityThe magazine is all about the lives of celebrities.
• celebWhich celeb recently spent $60,000 on an engagement ring?
• slebUK She was last spotted interviewing a minor sleb on the red carpet.
• starHer ambition was always to become a movie star.
• superstarRock superstar Elton John grew up working class in England.
• legendHe became a legend in his own lifetime.

See more results » Good and excellent things

• badass
• be the best thing since sliced bread idiom
• beatification
• beaut
• beauty
• blinder
• flagship
• green flag
• grouse
• hidden depths
• hidden gem
• high-end
• humdinger
• keeper
• peach
• pull factor
• queen
• ripper
• the real deal
• the Rolls-Royce of something idiom

See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Successful (things or people) (Definition of phenomenon from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

phenomenon | American Dictionary

phenomenonnoun us /fɪˈnɑm·əˌnɑn, -nən/

phenomenon noun (EXPERIENCE)

Add to word list Add to word list [ C ] plural phenomena us/fɪˈnɑm·ə·nə/ anything that is or can be experienced or felt, esp. something that is noticed because it is unusual or new: We discussed the ever-growing popularity of talk radio, and wondered how to explain this phenomenon.

phenomenon noun (SPECIAL PERSON/THING)

[ C usually sing ] plural phenomenons someone or something special, esp. because it is completely different or extremely unusual: He was a kind of phenomenon, an actor running for president. (Definition of phenomenon from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of phenomenon

phenomenon Such situations require fundamental knowledge of these interactions as a possible cause of anomalous transport phenomena in magnetized plasmas. From the Cambridge English Corpus His research aims at understanding consciousness as a natural biological phenomenon and at fruitful interaction between philosophical and empirical research in the study of consciousness. From the Cambridge English Corpus However, there are basic psychological phenomena that the model does not handle well. From the Cambridge English Corpus Moreover, certain psychological phenomena suggest a structural reality underlying prototype effects. From the Cambridge English Corpus These proscriptions, while useful in economics, may obfuscate important psychological phenomena. From the Cambridge English Corpus Together they might suggest paths of reinterpretation of ageing as a social phenomenon. From the Cambridge English Corpus This also illustrates that segmental reductions should be investigated in context, not as an isolated phenomenon. From the Cambridge English Corpus Experiments with doubly driven film flow, in which gravitational and surface tension gradient stresses are competing, have uncovered some new phenomena. From the Cambridge English Corpus It is usually bothersome to be confronted with statements about the supposed universal nature of a particular linguistic phenomenon. From the Cambridge English Corpus We have much less information about whether the patients in the trials also had evidence of active psychotic phenomena in addition to any depressive symptoms. From the Cambridge English Corpus There are phenomena that occur only at certain scales, and which thereby are poor models or metaphors for other levels. From the Cambridge English Corpus Apparently, the abbey had suffered from the loss of seasonal pastures, a recurring but disastrous phenomenon. From the Cambridge English Corpus We believe that the existing, well-established principles of behavior analysis are sufficient to account for the wide range of pain behavior phenomena. From the Cambridge English Corpus Transparency is not a particularly exotic phenomenon because it frequently occurs in natural contexts. From the Cambridge English Corpus Understanding how cues combine will aid in specifying the role of transparency in these phenomena and the nature of the mechanisms involved. From the Cambridge English Corpus These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with phenomenon

phenomenon

These are words often used in combination with phenomenon.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

astronomical phenomenaWas it necessary to formulate such a highly peculiar idea in order to explain astronomical phenomena? From the Cambridge English Corpus   atmospheric phenomenonThis atmospheric phenomenon can sometimes be seen twice a day, around the times of sunset and sunrise. From Wikipedia This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.   biological phenomenonHis research aims at understanding consciousness as a natural biological phenomenon and at fruitful interaction between philosophical and empirical research in the study of consciousness. From the Cambridge English Corpus   These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. See all collocations with phenomenon What is the pronunciation of phenomenon? What is the pronunciation of phenomena?

Translations of phenomenon

in Chinese (Traditional) 存在的事物, （尤指不尋常的或有趣的）現象, 成功… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 存在的事物, （尤指不寻常的或有趣的）现象, 成功… See more in Spanish fenómeno, fenómeno [masculine, singular]… See more in Portuguese fenômeno, fenômeno [masculine]… See more in Marathi in Turkish in French in Japanese in Dutch in Hindi in Gujarati in Danish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Urdu in Ukrainian in Telugu in Bengali in Czech in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish घटना, ज्ञानेंद्रियांव्दारे जाणून घेण्याजोगे काहीही… See more olay, olgu, fenomen… See more phénomène [masculine], phénomène… See more 現象（げんしょう）, 逸材（いつざい）… See more verschijnsel… See more परिघटना, घटना… See more કઇંક જે અસ્તિત્વમાં છે અને જેને જોઈ શકાય, અનુભવી શકાય, વિશેષ કરીને કઇંક અસામાન્ય કે રસપ્રદ.… See more fænomen… See more fenomen, företeelse… See more fenomena… See more das Phänomen… See more fenomen [neuter], fenomen… See more مظہر فطرت, قدرت, حقئقت… See more рідкісне явище, феномен… See more దృగ్విషయం, గోచరమయ్యే లక్షణం, వ్యవహారం… See more অনন্যসাধারণ কিছু যা বিদ্যমান এবং ইন্দ্রিয়গ্রাহ্য… See more jev… See more fenomena… See more ปรากฏการณ์… See more hiện tượng… See more zjawisko, fenomen… See more Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

Translator tool

Browse

phenomenally phenomenological BETA phenomenologist phenomenology phenomenon phenothiazine phenotype phenotypic phenotypical {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of phenomenon

• unidentified aerial phenomenon
• unidentified anomalous phenomenon
• Raynaud's phenomenon, at Raynaud's disease
• Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon, at unidentified aerial phenomenon
• Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon, at unidentified anomalous phenomenon

See all meanings

Word of the Day

retrospective

UK /ˌret.rəˈspek.tɪv/ US /ˌret.rəˈspek.tɪv/

relating to or thinking about the past

About this

Blog

Red-hot and roasting: words for describing things that are hot.

December 24, 2025 Read More

New Words

frost-jacking December 29, 2026 More new words has been added to list To top AI Assistant Contents EnglishAmericanExamplesCollocationsTranslations AI Assistant {{#displayLoginPopup}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Sign up for free and get access to exclusive content: Free word lists and quizzes from Cambridge Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans Sign up now or Log in Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Create word lists and quizzes for free Sign up now or Log in {{/displayLoginPopup}} {{#displayClassicSurvey}} {{/displayClassicSurvey}}

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
• My profile
• +Plus help
• Log out

AI Assistant Dictionary Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English Translations Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English English–Danish Danish–English English–Dutch Dutch–English English–French French–English English–German German–English English–Indonesian Indonesian–English English–Italian Italian–English English–Japanese Japanese–English English–Norwegian Norwegian–English English–Polish Polish–English English–Portuguese Portuguese–English English–Spanish Spanish–English English–Swedish Swedish–English Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese Translate Grammar Thesaurus Pronunciation Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Games {{userName}}

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
• My profile
• +Plus help
• Log out

Log in / Sign up English (UK) Change English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Follow us Choose a dictionary

• Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
• Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
• Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
• Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
• Translation Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries
  • English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
  • English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
  • English–Danish Danish–English
  • English–Dutch Dutch–English
  • English–French French–English
  • English–German German–English
  • English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
  • English–Italian Italian–English
  • English–Japanese Japanese–English
  • English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
  • English–Polish Polish–English
  • English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
  • English–Spanish Spanish–English
  • English–Swedish Swedish–English
  Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese
• Dictionary +Plus Word Lists

Choose your language English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Contents

• English   
  • Noun 
    • phenomenon (EXISTING THING)
    • phenomenon (SUCCESS)
• American   
  • Noun 
    • phenomenon (EXPERIENCE)
    • phenomenon (SPECIAL PERSON/THING)
• Examples
• Collocations

• Translations
• Grammar
• All translations

My word lists

To add phenomenon to a word list please sign up or log in.

Sign up or Log in My word lists

Add phenomenon to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{name}} More Go to your word lists {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} Tell us about this example sentence: The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}}