popular
adjective
pop·u·lar
ˈpä-pyə-lər 
1
: of or relating to the general public
2
: suitable to the majority: such as
a
: adapted to or indicative of the understanding and taste of the majority
a popular history of the war
b
: suited to the means of the majority : inexpensive
sold at popular prices
3
: frequently encountered or widely accepted
a popular theory
4
: commonly liked or approved
a very popular girl
popularly
adverb
Synonyms
Examples of popular in a Sentence
They have names that were popular a century ago.
He is a popular guy in school.
Spicy foods have become increasingly popular.
That is a very popular misconception.
The word “groovy” was popular in the 1960s but it's outdated now.
Her theories are popular among social scientists.
a popular history of physics
Recent Examples on the Web
So this is an idea that’s become very popular for a variety of reasons of why people get an ADU.
—
David Caraccio, Sacramento Bee, 5 Apr. 2024
Stumpy became popular in 2020 after a Reddit user joked that the tree was as dead as his love life.
—Kevin Ambrose, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024
The Georgia native first rose to prominence in 2008 via his album Ride Through the Country, and became a forerunner of the blending of country and hip-hop that has become so popular over the past several years.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 5 Apr. 2024
Wren now heads up Channel 4 News, and Maitlis co-hosts the popular podcast The News Agents.
—Armani Syed, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
After the banjo became a popular and mass-produced instrument in the Americas, England and Ireland during the 19th century, British colonizers took it to West Africa.
—Aaron Cohen, NPR, 5 Apr. 2024
That changed in January when McAfee, a relatively new hire at ESPN who already had established himself as a popular sports commentator on YouTube, was given new daytime duties on ESPN2.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
In the old days, people wrote songs for shows, and then those show songs became popular songs when Sinatra or Dean Martin covered them.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2024
Embrace Kingdom Gold or any color that is personal, not just popular.
—Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Apr. 2024
David Caraccio, Sacramento Bee, 5 Apr. 2024
Stumpy became popular in 2020 after a Reddit user joked that the tree was as dead as his love life.
—Kevin Ambrose, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024
The Georgia native first rose to prominence in 2008 via his album Ride Through the Country, and became a forerunner of the blending of country and hip-hop that has become so popular over the past several years.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 5 Apr. 2024
Wren now heads up Channel 4 News, and Maitlis co-hosts the popular podcast The News Agents.
—Armani Syed, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
After the banjo became a popular and mass-produced instrument in the Americas, England and Ireland during the 19th century, British colonizers took it to West Africa.
—Aaron Cohen, NPR, 5 Apr. 2024
That changed in January when McAfee, a relatively new hire at ESPN who already had established himself as a popular sports commentator on YouTube, was given new daytime duties on ESPN2.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
In the old days, people wrote songs for shows, and then those show songs became popular songs when Sinatra or Dean Martin covered them.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2024
Embrace Kingdom Gold or any color that is personal, not just popular.
—Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'popular.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near popular
Cite this Entry
“Popular.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/popular. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
popular
adjective
pop·u·lar
ˈpäp-yə-lər
1
: of, relating to, or coming from the whole body of people
popular government
2
: suitable for the average person (as in low price or ease of understanding)
popular prices
popular science
3
: generally current : prevalent
popular opinion
4
: commonly liked or approved
a popular teacher
popularity
noun
ˌpäp-yə-ˈlar-ət-ē
popularly
adverb
Etymology
from Latin popularis "of the people," from populus "the people" — related to public
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