natty
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of natty
Explanation
Natty means current in style, both of dress and manners. A natty dresser is someone who is very stylish and has a snappy attitude. He may even be wearing a natty fedora. Natty is an adjective that comes from the 18th century. Originally it was a slang term, perhaps related to the adjective neat. These days, if you say someone “looks neat,” it might sound like they look clean, but it also can mean that they look fashionable and put together. That’s what natty means, too. Someone who is natty is wearing fashionable clothes and is generally hip.
Vocabulary lists containing natty
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "N"
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The Field Guide to the North American Teenager
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Think of James Fenimore Cooper’s Natty Bumppo and Chingachgook, Herman Melville’s Ishmael and Queequeg, Twain’s Huck and Jim—or even the black-and-white buddy pairings common to Hollywood action movies of the 1980s and after.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
"We've had so many girls showing more interest," said Natalie "Natty" Cole, a former Aston Villa player who coaches girls at Knowle FC in Solihull.
From BBC • Jul. 31, 2022
Over the years, we’ve met a multitude of hikers with trail names like Dozer, Florida Man, Jaws, Natty Bird Dog, Water Queen and Wolfey Bizzerk.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 25, 2021
With DJ Natty Boom on Friday at 8 p.m. at Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. blackcatdc.com. $20-$25.
From Washington Post • Nov. 16, 2021
It was old Natty Prine, calling to her from the bench where he always sat.
From "The City of Ember" by Jeanne DuPrau
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
