fen

1 of 2

noun (1)

ˈfen 

: low land that is covered wholly or partly with water unless artificially drained and that usually has peaty alkaline soil and characteristic flora (as of sedges and reeds)

fen

2 of 2

noun (2)

ˈfən 

plural fen

a monetary subunit of the yuan see yuan at Money Table

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• bog
• marsh
• marshland
• mire
• moor
• morass
• muskeg
• slough
• slew
• slue
• swamp
• swampland
• wash
• wetland

Examples of fen in a Sentence

Noun (1)

a day spent trudging through the fens in quest of game birds

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Saving a satyr The property features a peat-bearing wetland called a fen, and the Mitchell’s satyr is only found in these rare habitats that take thousands of years to develop. —Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 31 Dec. 2024

Earth’s earliest wildfires may have been fitful and erratic, flickering among the amphibious flora of fens and bogs. —Ferris Jabr, The Atlantic, 25 June 2024

They can be found on all continents and are classified into bogs, fens and swamps. —Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Mar. 2024

But after decades of habitat destruction, these handsome insects are now fragmented and locally extinct, holding out in the wettest fens, valleys, and peat bogs of the New Forest and Dorset. —Matthew Ponsford, WIRED, 19 Mar. 2024

The plants have been found in Indiana's forested wetlands, fens, savannas and forests as well as long roadsides and in old crop fields. —The Indianapolis Star, 19 Mar. 2024

According to Indiana's Department of Natural Resources, wetlands include bogs, dune and swale, fens, flatwoods, floodplain forests, marshes, ponds, lakes, sedge meadows, seeps, streams, creeks, major rivers and swamps. —Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 14 Feb. 2024

Traversing swamps, marshes, bogs, fens, bayous and baygalls across Georgia, Louisiana and his home of East Texas, Carter creates haunting photographs that invoke the imagination. —Donny Bajohr, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Dec. 2023

There are four main kinds: Marshes, swamps, bogs and fens. —Caitlin Looby, Journal Sentinel, 24 July 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English fenn; akin to Old High German fenna fen, Sanskrit paṅka mud

Noun (2)

Chinese (Beijing) fēn

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1916, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing fen

• fen-phen
• phen-fen

Rhymes for fen

• ben
• bren
• chen
• den
• en
• gen
• glen
• hen
• jen
• ken
• men
• pen

Kids Definition

fen

noun

ˈfen

: low land covered wholly or partly by water

Geographical Definition

Fen

geographical name

ˈfən 

ˈfen

river 300 miles (483 kilometers) long in northern China in central Shanxi flowing south-southeast into the Huang River