feel the Bern

verb

To support the American politician Bernie Sanders (born 1941), especially during his 2016 or 2020 campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination.

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Meanings

verbfeel the Bern (third-person singular simple present feels the Bern, present participle feeling the Bern, simple past and past participle felt the Bern)

present singular third person feels the Bern · participle present feeling the Bern · participle past felt the Bern · past felt the Bern

  1. UShumorousslanggovernmentTo support the American politician Bernie Sanders (born 1941), especially during his 2016 or 2020 campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination.

    It also helped that Mr. Sanders[…]was both decidedly uncool and new to presidential politics, affording his campaign a paradoxical edge that inspired millions of young supporters to “feel the bern” and vote for him over Hillary Clinton.

    2019 September 20, Sydney Ember, “Young Voters Still ‘Feel the Bern,’ but Not Just for Bernie Sanders Anymore”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

Origin

A pun on feel the burn. Coined by People for Bernie organizer Winnie Wong.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

feel the Bern. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/feel%20the%20Bern

MLA

“feel the Bern.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/feel%20the%20Bern. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “feel the Bern,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/feel%20the%20Bern.

Source: feel the Bern on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.