English▸ verb [no object]
1 gradually grow faint and disappear:
the light had faded and dusk was advancing
hopes of peace had faded figurative.
▪ lose or cause to lose colour or brightness:
his fair hair had faded to a dusty grey
(faded as adjective) faded jeans.
▪ (of a flower) lose freshness and wither.
▪ (of a racehorse, runner, etc.) lose strength and cease to perform well:
she faded near the finish.
▪ (of a radio signal) gradually lose intensity:
the signal faded away.
▪ (of a vehicle brake) become temporarily less efficient as a result of frictional heating:
the brakes faded, needing a firmer push to bring the car to halt.
2 [with adverbial] (with reference to film and television images) come or cause to come gradually into or out of view, or to merge into another shot:
[no object] fade into scenes of rooms strewn with festive remains
[with object] some shots have to be faded in.
▪ (with reference to recorded sound) increase or decrease in volume or merge into another recording:
[no object] they let you edit the digital data, making it fade in and out
[with object] he skilfully fades the guitar lines up and down.
3 Golf (of the ball) deviate to the right (or, for a left-handed golfer, the left), typically as a result of spin given to the ball:
the ball faded toward an area left of the green.
▪ [with object] (of a golfer) cause (the ball) to deviate:
he had to fade the ball around a light pole.
4 [with object] North American English informal (in craps) match the bet of (another player):
Lovejoy faded him for twenty-five cents.
▸ noun
1 [mass noun] the process of becoming less bright:
the sun can cause colour fade.
▪ [count noun] an act of causing a film or television image to darken and disappear gradually:
a fade to black would bring the sequence to a close.
2 Golf a shot causing the ball to deviate to the right (or, for a left-handed golfer, the left):
when they get to the 18th the ideal shot is a fade.
▪ American football a pass thrown so that the ball descends directly over the receiver's shoulder, especially as they veer towards the sideline:
shortly after receiving the snap, he threw a fade to Crabtree
[as modifier] he scores on a beautiful fade pass to the back of the end zone.
– ORIGIN Middle English (in the sense ‘grow weak’): from Old French fader, from fade ‘dull, insipid’, probably based on a blend of Latin fatuus ‘silly, insipid’ and vapidus ‘vapid’.