- a story about fairies or other mythical or magical beings, esp one of traditional origin told to children
- a highly improbable account
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
ˈfair•y ˌtale, n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Literaturea story, usually for children, about magical beings and creatures.
- an incredible or misleading story;
lie.
fair′y tale′,
- Literaturea story, usually for children, about elves, hobgoblins, dragons, fairies, or other magical creatures.
- an incredible or misleading statement, account, or belief:His story of being a millionaire is just a fairy tale.Also called fair′y sto′ry.
- 1740–50
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
fairy tale, fairy story n
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
fairy-tale adj
- of or relating to a fairy tale
- resembling a fairy tale, esp in being extremely happy or fortunate: a true story with a fairy-tale ending
- highly improbable: he came out with a fairy-tale account of his achievements
'fairy tale' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):