chic
Americanadjective
noun
-
style and elegance, especially in dress.
Paris clothes have such chic.
-
stylishness; modishness.
the chic of the firstnighters.
-
casual and understated style, as in dress or décor, that expresses a specified trendy lifestyle or activity.
Black-rimmed glasses bring some geek chic to your outfit.
adjective
noun
-
stylishness, esp in dress; modishness; fashionable good taste
-
any of various fashion movements based on a particular lifestyle
radical chic
geek chic
Pronunciation
The spelling pronunciation is considered nonstandard except when used facetiously.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of chic
1855–60; < French < German Schick skill
Explanation
Something that's chic is fashionable or stylish. If you see a chic outfit in the window of a chic boutique, you might imagine that buying it will make you as chic as a fashion model. Chic can also be used as an noun to mean a specific type of stylishness or coolness, like a downtown urban chic (skinny jeans, perhaps), or nerdy chic (big glasses). Chic is a French word, so remember, whether it's an adjective or a noun, to pronounce it as “sheek” and not “chick,” so you can sound as chic as you look!
Vocabulary lists containing chic
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
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English Words Derived from French, List 5
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Lucky Broken Girl
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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.
See Examples For:
The label said the collection sought to upend "traditional notions of chic" and rework historical silhouettes.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
Another previously empty room was transformed into a chic lounge complete with a large couch, marble coffee table, wood flooring, and custom shelving.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
Depicted with potted plants, ample relaxation room, and chic luggage storage under Saarinen tulip tables, the people mover, the video promises, “will perhaps be best known for its convenience and its feeling of luxury.”
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
As he watched in-the-know travelers trickle in, he noticed something missing: a chic place for them to stay.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
A moment later, I’m inside a very chic little bathroom with a porthole mirror and swing-arm bronze lanterns, just like we’re in a ship.
From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle
I think it’s because, with the feel-me walls, the bend-’n-sniff tubes, the claymation-like animated embroideries, it seemed like a grown-up version of the children’s “discovery” gallery, but with much chicer clothes.
From New York Times ● May 9, 2024
After one of the chicer funeral scenes committed to film, Marianne covers for Jean-Paul to the police, despite the fact Jean-Paul had just declared his desire to leave her for Penelope.
From New York Times ● Aug. 21, 2021
Next to last year’s model, this one has a sleeker and chicer vibe.
From The Verge ● Jul. 10, 2020
It was seemingly the end when the designer, Walter Van Beirendonck — himself a large, hirsute Belgian man, a chicer version of Santa Claus — emerged to do his own walk down the runway.
From New York Times ● Sep. 3, 2019
Happy hour at home just got a whole lot chicer, with bar carts popping up in a variety of prices, colors and styles, including modern, minimal and industrial.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 21, 2017
Comporta, Portugal’s chicest beach destination, is no longer a secret.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
“If you’re looking for the chicest way to travel, this is it,” an Atlanta-based real estate advisor gushed in an Instagram video that appears to have been filmed at the Atlanta terminal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Ahead of Saturday's awards ceremony, AFP brings you some of the chicest and craziest looks, and also the actor who brought a bit of grit to the glamour.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
The chicest thing is, you know, a black dress or a white sofa or a silver car.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2024
All our chicest stock-jokes and pet patter they mops up, like mugs as they are, For they might cut their own chaff, eh, Charlie? not borrow it all from the bar.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 93. July 30, 1887 by
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.
