fee
fee Lexical Profile
fee Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A fixed sum of money charged by an institution, organization, or professional for a specific service, privilege, or admission.
"The university waived the application fee for students from low-income households."
In property law, an estate in land held on condition of feudal homage and service, or capable of being inherited by legal heirs.
"The historic manor was conveyed to the buyer as an unrestricted estate in fee simple."
• verb
Scottish To pay a fee to, or to engage or hire someone for service in exchange for regular wages (historical or chiefly Scottish).
"Young farmhands gathered at the market square hoping to be feed for the upcoming harvest season."
Word Nuance & Usage
'Fee' refers specifically to a payment for professional services, official privileges, or institutional admission, whereas 'fare' refers to the price of passenger transportation and 'fine' refers to a financial penalty for breaking a rule or law.
• Rhymes for fee
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English fee, borrowed from Anglo-Norman fe, fi ('feudal estate, payment'), from Medieval Latin feodum, ultimately of Germanic origin (akin to Old English feoh meaning 'cattle, movable property, or money').
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.