1 a : a popular way of dressing during a particular time or among a particular group of people [count] ▪ Jewelry and clothing fashions vary with the season. [noncount] ▪ Long, full skirts were (all/very much) the fashion in those days. ▪ fashion-conscious shoppers [=shoppers who know what styles are popular] ▪ Short skirts are currently in fashion. [=are currently popular] ▪ Short skirts have come back into fashion. ▪ Those ruffled blouses went out of fashion years ago.
b [noncount] : the business of creating and selling clothes in new styles
▪ the world of fashion — often used before another noun ▪ the fashion industry ▪ She reads all the fashion magazines. [=magazines about the newest fashions] ▪ We attended a fashion show. [=a show at which people who design clothes show their new designs] — see also high fashion
c fashions [plural] : clothes that are popular
▪ She always wears the latest fashions. 2 : a style, way of behaving, etc., that is popular in a particular time and place [count] ▪ Literary fashions have changed in recent years. [noncount] ▪ Action movies are (all) the fashion in Hollywood these days. = Action movies are in fashion in Hollywood these days. ▪ Her theories have fallen/gone out of fashion. [=are no longer popular] 3 : a specified way of acting or behaving — usually used after in [singular] ▪ His friends noticed that he was behaving in a strange fashion. [=behaving strangely] ▪ We started the meeting in an orderly fashion. [noncount] ▪ We all lined up in orderly fashion.