informal
: fear of missing out : fear of not being included in something (such as an interesting or enjoyable activity) that others are experiencing
If anyone in history should have died from FOMO, it would be Emily Dickinson, an agoraphobe who virtually never left her house …O. The Oprah Magazine
In 2018, I was in Rome for Thanksgiving—the first time I had been out of the country for a major holiday. My family never felt so far away, and all I wanted was to be home. This was dramatic, of course, brought on by end-of-semester stress and strong FOMO.Gretchen Wright
compare jomo

Examples of FOMO in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Financial services organizations are succumbing to AI FOMO (fear of missing out) and scrambling to acquire skilled workers before their competitors. Parijat Banerjee, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024 This uneasiness reflects a natural desire to maximize gains and a fear of missing out: Financial FOMO. Wes Moss, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024 This is easy enough for your communications team and can create some FOMO. Elizabeth Baskin, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024 Retail investors, driven by the FOMO, further accelerate the price increases. Ansel Lindner, Forbes, 13 Sep. 2024 Read the full Capricorn Daily Horoscope Aquarius (January 20 - February 18) Wrestling with FOMO? USA TODAY, 16 Aug. 2024 People addicted to their phones experience FOMO, Fear Of Missing Out, which leads them to checking their phones continuously throughout the day. Letters To The Editor, Hartford Courant, 3 Aug. 2024 Another thing that’s happening is good old-fashioned FOMO. Eric Thomas, Sun Sentinel, 14 June 2024 The character, voiced with antic flair by Maya Hawke, might just as well have been named Caffeinated Calculation or Desire To Belong or Obsessive-Compulsive Social-Climbing FOMO. Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 12 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

2004, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of FOMO was in 2004

Dictionary Entries Near FOMO

Cite this Entry

“FOMO.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/FOMO. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

FOMO

noun
ˈfō-mō
: fear of missing out
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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