toff

American  

[tof] / tɒf /

noun

British Informal.

1. a stylishly dressed, fashionable person, especially one who is or wants to be considered a member of the upper class.

---

toff British  

/ tɒf /

noun

1. slang a rich, well-dressed, or upper-class person, esp a man

---

Etymology

Origin of toff

First recorded in 1850–55; perhaps variant of tuft

Example Sentences

A lot of thought seems to have gone into Johnson’s self-presentation as someone indifferent to appearances — a toff but with scuffed shoes familiar with the grass roots.

From Washington Post • Feb. 2, 2022

Citibank internship led to Deutsche Bank job, and after a few years she was an equity derivatives trader at Deutsche, holding her own against the toff sharks of the City of London.

From The Verge • May 12, 2021

Among the original candidates for the role of an MI6 toff were such war horses of Hollywood’s British colony as David Niven and James Mason.

From New York Times • Nov. 2, 2020

John is still into Bulgaria and piano-playing, has survived a nasty fall from a horse, and resents having been typecast as a Tory toff.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 27, 2019

That spirit alarmed and discomfited many Europeans, toff and peasant alike.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann