A stan is an extremely devoted fan of a singer or another celebrity, someone who admires and follows their idol far more closely than most people would. It's also a verb: I stan her means I absolutely adore her. The word lives on social media and in fan chats; in an essay, an email to a colleague or IELTS Speaking, replace it with I'm a huge fan of or I really admire.
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a + name + stan (a Taylor Swift stan); stan + person (I stan her); stans (plural)
- My sister is a massive Harry Styles stan, she's seen him live four times.
- Honestly, I didn't stan anyone until I heard Olivia Rodrigo's first album.
- The singer's stans filled the comments within minutes of the tour announcement.
What changed
First versionMy flatmate is huge Taylor Swift stan, she knows every lyric by heart.
RevisionMy flatmate is a huge Taylor Swift stan, she knows every lyric by heart.
Stan is a countable noun, like fan, so it needs a: a huge Taylor Swift stan. The a is easy to lose, especially when an adjective and the singer's name come before stan.
A fan is an admirer, while a stan is a fan taken to the extreme, with much stronger admiration. I'm a fan of her music sounds calm, but I'm a total stan is an admission of near-obsession, often said half-jokingly.
Your turn
My brother ___ Billie Eilish: he has all her albums on vinyl and flew to Berlin for her concert.
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stans — The subject, my brother, is third person singular (he), so the present-tense verb takes -s: he stans. Stan without the ending would work with I, you, we or they, but not with brother.
Text a friend about a singer, band or actor you're crazy about. Use stan and say what you've done for this idol.
I stan Florence Welch so much that I queued outside the venue for six hours to get a spot at the front.
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