Phrase guide

15 minutes of fame

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A very short time in the spotlight or brief flurry with fame, after which the person or subject involved is quickly forgotten.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, plural, plural-only

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: 15 minutes, fifteen minutes, moment in the sun

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

First appears c. 1968, although a use in French appears as early as 1821 in Histoire de l'Assemblée constituante by Charles Lacretelle. Often misattributed to Andy Warhol, in a catalogue of an exhibition of his art in Stockholm: “In the future everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.”

Across languages

Translations

24 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: vyftien minute van roem — fifteen minutes of fame
  • Albanian: pesëmbëdhjetë minuta famë — fifteen minutes of fame
  • Belarusian: пятнаццаць хвілін славы (pjatnaccacʹ xvilin slavy) — fifteen minutes of fame
  • Chinese Mandarin: 短暫出名 /短暂出名 (duǎnzàn chūmíng) — fifteen minutes of fame
  • Chinese Mandarin: 大出風頭 /大出风头 (dà chū fēngtou) — fifteen minutes of fame
  • Esperanto: dek kvin minutoj da gloro — fifteen minutes of fame
  • Finnish: viisitoista minuuttia kuuluisuutta — fifteen minutes of fame
  • French: heure de gloire — fifteen minutes of fame
  • French: quart d'heure de gloire — fifteen minutes of fame
  • German: fünfzehn Minuten Ruhm — fifteen minutes of fame
  • Greek: δεκαπέντε λεπτά δημοσιότητας (dekapénte leptá dimosiótitas) — fifteen minutes of fame
  • Hebrew: חמש עשרה דקות של תהילה (khamesh esre dakot shel tehila) — fifteen minutes of fame
  • Hungarian: tizenöt perc hírnév — fifteen minutes of fame
  • Marathi: पंधरा मिनिटे प्रसिद्धी (pandhrā miniṭe prasiddhī) — fifteen minutes of fame
  • Norwegian: femten minutters berømmelse — fifteen minutes of fame
  • Polish: pięć minut — fifteen minutes of fame
  • Portuguese: quinze minutos de fama — fifteen minutes of fame
  • Romanian: cincisprezece minute de faimă — fifteen minutes of fame
  • Russian: пятна́дцать мину́т сла́вы (pjatnádcatʹ minút slávy) — fifteen minutes of fame
  • Spanish: quince minutos de fama — fifteen minutes of fame
  • Spanish: cinco minutos de fama — fifteen minutes of fame
  • Swedish: femton minuter i rampljuset — fifteen minutes of fame
  • Swedish: femton minuter av berömmelse — fifteen minutes of fame
  • Turkish: sabunköpüğü — fifteen minutes of fame