A rite or ceremony.
"The birthday celebration for the retiring judge was a true celebrity event filled with speeches and cake cutting."
In plain English: A celebrity is a person who is famous and well-known to many people because of their work in entertainment, sports, or other public fields.
"The celebrity was spotted leaving the restaurant with her family."
Usage: The word celebrity refers to a famous person, not a rite or ceremony; the correct term for a ritual or event is celebration. Use celebrity when describing someone well-known to the public, such as an actor or athlete.
The word celebrity traveled into English via the Old French form celebrite, which borrowed it directly from the Latin celēbritās. Originally meaning "fame" or "reputation," the term has retained this core sense of being well-known to the public over time.